US Secretary of State Meets Iraqi Counterpart in Washington

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Yesterday, Thursday, an Iraqi delegation headed by Iraqi Foreign Minister Hussein Fuad arrived in Washington to meet with American officials. 

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during a meeting with his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein in Washington that "we will discuss with the Iraqi delegation the fight against ISIS so that we can establish security and stability, which indicates close relations with Iraq."

Blinken added that "we are proud of the partnership with the Iraqi government," noting that "the US-Iraqi relations are close, especially in the fight against terrorism."

For his part, the Iraqi foreign minister said, "We are here to conduct dialogue and discussion with the American side," hoping that the dialogue will "deepen the joint cooperation between Washington and Baghdad."

Hussein added that "the premises of the dialogue are based on joint action, mutual respect, and cooperation in broad areas, including security, military, economic, energy, health, combating Corona, and many other fields."

He added, "ISIS is still a military terrorist organization, and there are terrorist activities in Iraq. A few days ago, they attacked the Sadr City with a suicide operation, meaning that ISIS is still operating in Iraq, and its danger exists for Iraq and the international community."

The Iraqi minister stressed that "we need international action to confront ISIS and its ideology," he also emphasized, "We need the international coalition and work with it, led by the United States, to continue fighting ISIS."

Hussein explained, "Iraq's relations with the United States are not limited to the security aspect, but there is joint work in other areas, which are related to the future of Iraq."

The Iraqi foreign minister thanked "the United States' prominent role in supporting Iraq, through the UN Security Council, by sending election observers."

In conclusion, he affirmed: "I am confident that in this round of dialogue, we will reach understandings that serve both countries."

The Iraqi delegation, headed by Hussein, arrived in the United States to participate in the last round of the US-Iraqi "strategic dialogue" held today, Friday, in Washington. 

Yesterday, Thursday, The Wall Street Journal quoted American and Iraqi officials as saying that top Iraqi and US officials plan to issue a statement calling for US troops to leave Iraq by year-end, both nations’ officials said, but would reaffirm the need for a US military presence to help Iraqi forces in fight against ISIS. 

“We don’t need any more fighters because we have those,” Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein told The Wall Street Journal. “What do we need? We need cooperation in the field of intelligence. We need help with training. We need troops to help us in the air.”