SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi on Thursday met with White House coordinator Brett McGurk in Baghdad to discuss Iraq-U.S. strategic dialogue.
The White House coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa was said to have arrived in Baghdad on an unannounced visit on Wednesday.
Kadhimi and McGurk discussed preparations for the next round of strategic dialogue between Iraq and the United States, the premier’s office said in a statement.
They also discussed “mechanisms for the withdrawal of combat forces in Iraq and the transition to a new stage of strategic cooperation that develops the relationship between the two countries and enhances Iraq’s security and sovereignty”, the statement read.
The two sides stressed that the region needs to give “precedence to the language of dialogue and tranquility”, according to the statement.
It was McGurk’s second visit to Iraq this year. McGurk accompanied by a high-level delegation visited Baghdad and Erbil in May.
The delegation included U.S. State Department Counselor Derek Chollet, Acting Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs Joey Hood and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East Dana Stroul.
Iraq and the United States began their strategic dialogue in June 2020 under former U.S. President Donald Trump administration.
In the third round of talks in April, the United States agreed to remove remaining combat forces deployed to fight Islamic State (ISIS) militants in Iraq.
The Iraqi prime minister is also expected to pay a visit to the United States at the end of this month, Sky News reported on July 10.
A source in the premier’s office told Sky News Arabia that Kadhimi would discuss with Biden the strategic dialogue between the two countries.
Efforts to continue the strategic dialogue come as U.S. forces stationed in Iraq come under continuous rocket and drone attacks.
The attacks have increased since the United States carried out airstrikes against Iranian-backed militia groups last month.
A rocket attack on Iraq’s Ain al-Asad air base earlier this month wounded two American service members, according to U.S. officials.
Iraqi army officials said the pace of recent attacks against bases hosting U.S. forces with rockets and explosive-laden drones was unprecedented.
While there were no immediate claims of responsibility for the attacks analysts believed they were part of a campaign by Iranian-backed militias.
Iraqi militia groups aligned with Iran vowed to retaliate after U.S. strikes on the Iraqi-Syrian border killed four of their members last month.
The United States told the U.N. Security Council that it targeted Iranian-backed militia in Syria and Iraq with air strikes to deter them and Tehran from conducting or supporting further attacks on U.S. personnel or facilities.
Iran denied supporting attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria and condemned U.S. air strikes on Iranian-backed groups.
