Iraq's PM Stresses Importance of Withdrawal of US Forces

Iraq's Prime Minister (PM) Dr. Mustafa El Kadhemy discussed with the US government delegation ways of strengthening ties of joint cooperation.

The US delegation chaired by Brett McGurk, White House Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa.

The media office under the Iraqi Premiership issued a statement quoted by the official news agency that said the Iraqi Premier discussed with the visiting delegation coordination and joint cooperation in various fields.

The talks concentrated on activating the outputs of the strategic dialog between Iraq and the United States of America (USA), especially what is related to the withdrawal of the American forces from Iraq and developing and widening of cooperation in the economic, cultural, and commercial fields.

The statement added that the US-Iraqi talks touched also on the cooperation in the health sector and fighting the Corona (known also as COVID-19) pandemic.

On his part, Iraq's PM stressed the importance of withdrawal of the US combatant forces from the Iraqi territories.

On the other hand,  General Kenneth Mackenzie, Commander of the US Central Commandment,   revealed last Friday, that the American forces won't leave Iraq in the near future.

He pointed out during a televised interview, that the presence of the US forces in Iraq based on the request of the Iraqi government.

He went on to say that those forces continue to fight terrorists of ISIS in Iraq in cooperation with the international coalition.

Gen. Kenneth Mackenzie assured that the future of the US forces in Iraq will be settled through negotiations with the Iraqi government.

He praised the Iraqi army for developing its military combatant capabilities as the Iraqis fight by themselves.

The US commander affirmed that the US forces did not longer take part in fighting against the terrorist groups in Iraq.

But the US forces supervise the training of the Iraqi forces.

On April 7, Washington and Baghdad ended the third round of strategic dialogue, via televised video technology.

The two sides discussed various aspects related to the nature of the relationship between the two countries, including economy and military support.