CAIRO: Foreign Minister of Iraq Fuad Hussein, in a telephonic conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday, emphasized the need to return to the negotiating table over the future of the US-led international military coalition in Iraq.
The foreign ministry in a statement said that talks between the two countries started in January, but after three US service members killed in an attack in Jordan few days ago, the talks have since paused then.
The US military began airstrikes on Friday in both Iraq and Syria against more than 85 targets related to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) in retaliation for the attack in Jordan.
Hussein told Blinken that Iraq is not an arena for settling scores between rival nations.
The United States has the presence of 2,500 troops in Iraq, assisting local forces to stop resurgence of Daesh, which seized large parts of Iraq and Syria in 2014 before being defeated. Hundreds of troops from mostly European states are also part of the coalition.
Iraq’s government says as Daesh is defeated so the coalition’s job is over, however, a US withdrawal would likely raise concern in Washington about the influence of Iran in Iraq.
Iraq is keen to establishing bilateral ties with coalition members, including military cooperation in equipment and training.
Hussein has also demanded the US Treasury Department to reconsider the sanctions it had imposed on several Iraqi banks.
In July, Washington barred 14 Iraqi banks from conducting dollar transactions as part of a wider crackdown on the illegal use of dollars.
