Shafaq News- New York

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday warned that Iraq must disarm factions to avoid the country’s “Balkanization,” referring to Iraq’s fragmentation into smaller, rival entities along ethnic or sectarian lines, as happened in the Balkans.

In remarks to reporters in New York, he expressed Washington’s support for Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi’s efforts to place weapons under state control. “We have no doubt about the Iraqi prime minister’s commitment to ensuring that weapons are held by the state.”

Earlier in the day, Al-Zaidi met with US President Donald Trump, and the two leaders discussed bilateral relations and ways to strengthen cooperation between Iraq and the United States.