Iraq wants to return to the negotiating table with the United States

After US air strikes on Iraq and Syria, the talks stopped. This was a retaliation strike for the three American soldiers who were killed. Now Iraq wants to talk again about a joint military alliance.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein stressed the necessity of dialogue regarding the joint military alliance, during a phone call with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, on Tuesday (local time). The Iraqi Foreign Ministry said it wants to return to the negotiating table on the future of the US-led international military coalition in Iraq.

In response to the attack in Jordan, the US military carried out airstrikes on Friday in both Iraq and Syria against more than 85 targets believed to be linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and the militias it supports. Hussein assured Blinken that the Iraqi government rejects such attacks: “Iraq is not a place to resolve disputes between competing countries.”

Talks between the two countries began in January. But a short time later, three American soldiers were killed in an attack in Jordan, after which the United States carried out air strikes on Iranian Revolutionary Guard positions and Tehran-allied militias in Syria and Iraq, killing nearly 40 people. As a result, the talks stopped.

The United States has 2,500 troops stationed in Iraq to advise and assist local forces to prevent the resurgence of ISIS, which took control of large swaths of Iraq and Syria in 2014 before being defeated. Hundreds of soldiers from mostly European countries also participate in the coalition. Iraq is keen to develop bilateral relations with coalition members, including military cooperation in the field of training and equipment. (APA/DPA)