World
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani delivering a video message in Baghdad before his departure to Washington on April 13, 2024. Photo: Sudani's office
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani left for Washington on Saturday. He will meet with United States President Joe Biden on Monday for talks on a range of issues, including the future of US troops in Iraq.
“Prime Minister Mohammed S. Al-Sudani is heading to the United States on an official visit, following an invitation from US President Joseph Biden,” Sudani’s office said in a short statement on Saturday.
Before his departure, Sudani said in a video message that the goal of his visit is to bring relations with the US into “a new stage.”
The US and Iraq have begun discussions about winding down the presence of the US-led global coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS) mission in Iraq. Baghdad is seeking to expel coalition forces from the country after the US carried out several airstrikes against Iraqi armed groups in retaliation for scores of attacks on its forces based in Iraq, Syria, and Jordan.
The Islamic Resistance, a group of Iraqi militias affiliated with Iran, on Friday renewed their threats against American interests in the region, claiming that the US has increased the number of its troops in Iraq.
Around 2,500 American troops in Iraq and 900 in Syria are leading an international coalition that has assisted Kurdish, Iraqi, and Syrian forces in the fight against ISIS. These troops have come under attack dozens of times after Israel began its war in Gaza last October. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed responsibility for the majority of the attacks that were suspended in Iraq after the US carried out several deadly retaliatory airstrikes.
“When I visit Washington and meet with President Joe Biden on April 15, it will be an opportunity to put the U.S.-Iraqi partnership on a new, more sustainable foundation,” Sudani said in an article published in Foreign Affairs on Thursday.
The United States has not received a request from Baghdad to withdraw from the country, but is seeking to transition from its mission against ISIS into a long-term security relationship with Iraq, the Pentagon’s spokesperson told Rudaw in an interview on Wednesday.
“The United States military is there, of course, at the invitation of the government of Iraq, in a non-combat role to train, advise Iraqi security forces as it relates to the defeat-ISIS mission. But again, what the Higher Military Commission will help us do is look at how we're going to transition from that mission to an enduring bilateral security cooperation and relationship,” said Major General Pat Ryder.
The Higher Military Commission is a US-Iraq military dialogue.
“Prime Minister Mohammed S. Al-Sudani is heading to the United States on an official visit, following an invitation from US President Joseph Biden,” Sudani’s office said in a short statement on Saturday.
Before his departure, Sudani said in a video message that the goal of his visit is to bring relations with the US into “a new stage.”
The US and Iraq have begun discussions about winding down the presence of the US-led global coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS) mission in Iraq. Baghdad is seeking to expel coalition forces from the country after the US carried out several airstrikes against Iraqi armed groups in retaliation for scores of attacks on its forces based in Iraq, Syria, and Jordan.
The Islamic Resistance, a group of Iraqi militias affiliated with Iran, on Friday renewed their threats against American interests in the region, claiming that the US has increased the number of its troops in Iraq.
Around 2,500 American troops in Iraq and 900 in Syria are leading an international coalition that has assisted Kurdish, Iraqi, and Syrian forces in the fight against ISIS. These troops have come under attack dozens of times after Israel began its war in Gaza last October. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed responsibility for the majority of the attacks that were suspended in Iraq after the US carried out several deadly retaliatory airstrikes.
“When I visit Washington and meet with President Joe Biden on April 15, it will be an opportunity to put the U.S.-Iraqi partnership on a new, more sustainable foundation,” Sudani said in an article published in Foreign Affairs on Thursday.
The United States has not received a request from Baghdad to withdraw from the country, but is seeking to transition from its mission against ISIS into a long-term security relationship with Iraq, the Pentagon’s spokesperson told Rudaw in an interview on Wednesday.
“The United States military is there, of course, at the invitation of the government of Iraq, in a non-combat role to train, advise Iraqi security forces as it relates to the defeat-ISIS mission. But again, what the Higher Military Commission will help us do is look at how we're going to transition from that mission to an enduring bilateral security cooperation and relationship,” said Major General Pat Ryder.
The Higher Military Commission is a US-Iraq military dialogue.
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