Blinken makes unannounced cease in Iraq amid push to stabilise post-Assad Syria

Blinken met in Baghdad with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani as a part of the rapidly organized journey, his twelfth to the area because the Israel-Hamas struggle erupted final yr however his first because the weekend ouster of Syrian strongman Bashar Assad.

Blinken has already been to Jordan and Turkiye on his present tour and can return to Jordan for pressing conferences on Saturday with Arab international ministers to attempt to unify help for an inclusive post-Assad transition that doesn’t permit the Islamic State group to reap the benefits of the political vacuum in Syria and secures suspected chemical weapons shares.

In Baghdad, Blinken “will underscore US dedication to the US-Iraq strategic partnership and to Iraq’s safety, stability, and sovereignty,” the State Division stated.

“He can even focus on regional safety alternatives and challenges, in addition to enduring US help for engagement with all communities in Syria to determine an inclusive transition,” it stated in a press release.

His journey comes because the Biden administration winds down with simply over a month left earlier than President-elect Donald Trump takes workplace. Trump has been extremely vital of Biden’s method to the Center East and sceptical of the US army presence in each Iraq and Syria.

The US and Iraq agreed in September to wrap up US-led army operations towards the Islamic State in Iraq subsequent yr, though Assad’s ouster and the potential for the group profiting from a political vacuum in Syria may complicate the timing of the withdrawal, in keeping with American officers. (AP) GRS GRS