PNN – The Iraqi Prime Minister spoke about Baghdad’s approach to playing an active role in regional developments, strengthening bilateral relations with Iran and the United States, and returning Syria to the Arab world, and described the indirect talks between Tehran and Washington as important.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network, citing the official Iraqi News Agency (INA), Muhammad Shia Al-Sudani said in a television interview while explaining his government’s domestic and regional policies: Iraq will no longer simply host regional meetings, but will also provide solutions to Middle East crises.
Referring to Iraq’s good relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States, he called the talks between the two countries “an important opportunity” and emphasized that the success of these talks will have a positive impact on the entire region, and especially Iraq.
Al-Sudani also announced Baghdad’s readiness to host the third round of security talks with Washington and considered Iraq’s experience in cooperating with the international coalition against ISIS a successful model.
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In another part of his statement, he considered the presence of the interim Syrian president at the upcoming Arab leaders’ meeting in Iraq a sign of Damascus’ return to regional engagement, and emphasized Baghdad’s support for Damascus and the choices of the Syrian people.
The Iraqi Prime Minister also continued to identify the Palestinian issue as the root cause of the Middle East crises and called for a fundamental solution to this issue.
Al-Sudani added: Iraq is an independent country that does not belong to any party. We are a bridge of communication, not a battlefield.
Referring to his country’s economic situation, he continued: This year, we have imported cars worth $4.5 billion from the United States, and the volume of domestic investments has reached more than $88 billion.
He also considered Iraq to have the world’s largest sulfur reserves and the second largest phosphate reserves, and announced continued efforts to return smuggled goods from the country.
Iran and the United States have so far held three rounds of indirect talks based on the JCPOA formula, which includes building Iran’s confidence in its nuclear program in exchange for effective sanctions relief. Maintaining the enrichment cycle within the country is one of Iran’s red lines in these talks, which Tehran says it will not negotiate over, but is ready to discuss how to verify its peaceful nuclear program.