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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (right) receives Iraqi FM Fuad Hussein in Washington on March 26, 2024. Photo: AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday said that Iraq is critical to stability in the Middle East, adding that Washington looks forward to the scheduled meeting between Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani and US President Joe Biden in coming weeks.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein is in Washington, making preparations for Sudani’s first meeting with Biden on April 15. Hussein was received by Blinken on Tuesday.
“We look forward to Prime Minister Sudani’s visit to see President Biden in a few weeks time,” Blinken told reporters during a joint presser with Hussein in Washington.
“Our partnership crosses over many issues and many things that have a direct impact on the lives of Iraqis as well as Americans, everything from water to energy to the environment to the delivery of services,” the US secretary of state said.
“For us Iraq is an important critical partner, critical to the stability of the region, and one again which we have not only a longstanding relationship [with] but one that is comprehensive to the issues it covers,” he noted.
The US and Iraq have begun discussions about winding down the US-led global coalition against the Islamic State 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.
Biden and Sudani “will consult on a range of issues during the visit, including our shared commitment to the lasting defeat of ISIS and evolution of the military mission nearly ten years after forming the successful Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS,” the White House said in a statement on Friday.
“We are partners in the fight against ISIS and we will stay [as] partners in this fight,” Hussein told reporters in the joint presser. “We are also partners in building our economy and working together in various fields.”
“We will have discussions about the Middle East and the tension there. We are going to work together also to have less tension in that area,” he noted.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein is in Washington, making preparations for Sudani’s first meeting with Biden on April 15. Hussein was received by Blinken on Tuesday.
“We look forward to Prime Minister Sudani’s visit to see President Biden in a few weeks time,” Blinken told reporters during a joint presser with Hussein in Washington.
“Our partnership crosses over many issues and many things that have a direct impact on the lives of Iraqis as well as Americans, everything from water to energy to the environment to the delivery of services,” the US secretary of state said.
“For us Iraq is an important critical partner, critical to the stability of the region, and one again which we have not only a longstanding relationship [with] but one that is comprehensive to the issues it covers,” he noted.
The US and Iraq have begun discussions about winding down the US-led global coalition against the Islamic State 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.
Biden and Sudani “will consult on a range of issues during the visit, including our shared commitment to the lasting defeat of ISIS and evolution of the military mission nearly ten years after forming the successful Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS,” the White House said in a statement on Friday.
“We are partners in the fight against ISIS and we will stay [as] partners in this fight,” Hussein told reporters in the joint presser. “We are also partners in building our economy and working together in various fields.”
“We will have discussions about the Middle East and the tension there. We are going to work together also to have less tension in that area,” he noted.
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