Iraqi senior officials discuss the U.S. troops withdrawal with international actors

Shafaq News/ The Iraqi Minister of Foreign Affairs, Fuad Hussein, met earlier today, Saturday, with the Permanent Representative of France and President of the Security Council in July 2021, Nicolas de Rivière.

The meeting, according to a readout issued by the Iraqi Ministry, discussed the U.S. troops' withdrawal from Iraq and the French support to Iraq at multiple levels.

Minister Hussein emphasized Iraq's willingness to maintain the cooperation with the International Community in the battle against terrorism via the training and consultancy that will continue to be provided after the withdrawal of the combat U.S. mission from Iraq by the end of the current year.

For his part, the French diplomat asserted his country's support to Iraq in the war against ISIS, highlighting its continuous cooperation with UNAMI on the elections file.

The Iraqi National Security Adviser, Qassem Al-Araji, received today, Saturday, the US ambassador in Baghdad, Matthew Tueller, and the commander of the US-led Coalition in charge of the U.S. forces departure in Iraq, General Calvert.

In the meeting, al-Araji discussed with his guests the outcomes of the Prime Minister's visit to Washington, as well as the political and security situation ahead of the upcoming elections.

Al-Araji stressed that the visit of the Prime Minister and the technical delegation to the U.S. capital was successful as it achieved vital outputs that serve the interests of Iraq and its people.

For his part, the U.S. ambassador indicated that General Calvert will be in charge of implementing the technical agreement to terminate the U.S. forces combat mission by 12/31/2021, while maintaining the assistance and support to Iraq in the battle against ISIS.

The US ambassador also affirmed that his country welcomes any diplomatic effort to restore the normal relationship with Iran, pointing to Washington's unwillingness to escalate with Iran, especially in Iraq.