Reducing the US embassy staff in Baghdad will not affect the US-Iraqi relations, Schenker says

Shafaq News / The US administration said that reducing the number of its embassy staff in Baghdad will not affect the US-Iraqi relations.

This came during an online session that the US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, David Schenker, participated in.

Schenker said that the embassy's main cadres and the American advisers with the Iraqi security forces would remain in charge, stressing that Washington would not close its embassy in Baghdad.

Schenker indicated that the reduction in the number of employees is temporary and will not affect the two countries' relations.

The US embassy in Baghdad nearly halved the number of its employees, amid fears of reprisals during the first anniversary of the assassination of the Iranian General Qassem Soleimani and the deputy head of the-Hashd Al-Shaabi, Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis, in an American airstrike near Baghdad airport early this year.

He referred to previous meetings he had held with Prime Minister Al-Kadhimi, President Salih, and the Parliament speaker. They discussed the relationship between the two sides at the level of economic reforms and the early elections.

He pointed out that the United States will allocate 10 million dollars to support efforts to make the elections a success.