Iraqi Foreign Minister: America apologized to Baghdad after the recent attack

Afghan Voice Agency (AVA) - International Service: Iraqi Foreign Minister Fouad Mohammad Hossein said that Washington has apologized to the Iraqi government for not warning the Iraqi government before the airstrikes against targets in Iraqi territory on March 2.

 

Sputnik news agency reported that Fawad Hossein, in a conversation with this news agency on the sidelines of the meeting of the Antalya Diplomacy Association, said: Washington had not actually warned the Iraqi security forces about these attacks. 

 

At the end of January, three American soldiers were killed and more than 40 people were injured in a drone attack by the Iraqi resistance forces against the American base "Tower 22" in Jordan. The attacks of the resistance forces were carried out in response to the continued full support of the United States to the Zionist regime in the Gaza war.

 

Washington blamed what it called Iranian-backed militias for the attack and carried out retaliatory strikes on targets in Iraq and Syria on February 2. Baghdad and Damascus strongly condemned these attacks against their soil.

 

According to ISNA, the Iranian authorities denied any control over the resistance forces in the region and said that they make decisions based on their own discretion.

 

John Kirby, the strategic communications coordinator of the White House National Security Council, initially said that the US had informed the Iraqi government before these attacks. However, "Vedant Patel", the deputy spokesperson of the US State Department, said on February 6 that Washington had not warned Baghdad before these attacks. Kirby later said that he did not convey his meaning correctly.

 

In another part of the conversation with Sputnik, the Iraqi Foreign Minister also stated that none of the Western countries contacted Iraq to send weapons to Ukraine.

 

He emphasized that Iraq is an independent country and all decisions are taken by the Iraqi government and legislative bodies.

 

In response to a question about this, Fawad Hossein said: As far as I know, no one has contacted the Iraqi side in this matter (about sending weapons to Ukraine).

 

Russia believes that sending weapons to Ukraine hinders the resolution of the conflict and brings NATO countries directly into the conflict and is "playing with fire."

 

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov noted that any shipment containing weapons for Ukraine would become a legitimate target for Russia. According to him, the United States and NATO are directly involved in the conflict not only by providing weapons, but also by training military personnel in England, Germany, Italy and other countries. The Kremlin announced that the influx of Western weapons to Ukraine will not help the negotiations and will have a negative impact.

 

The Iraqi Foreign Minister also told Sputnik that the negotiations between Iraq and the United States regarding the withdrawal of the international coalition forces from Iraq are continuing, but "currently there is no decision or plan for the withdrawal of these forces."

 

Fawad Hossein said: Negotiations with the American side regarding the presence or withdrawal of American or coalition forces in Iraq are ongoing.

 

Asked if there is a timetable for the withdrawal of international coalition forces, he said that "negotiations are still ongoing."

 

Fawad Hossein's statement comes after Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Al-Sudani said on January 10 that Iraq is seeking the withdrawal of the international military coalition from its territory, which was created to fight the terrorist organization ISIS, because it can Protect against terrorism. After that, in early February, the Security and Defense Committee of the Iraqi Parliament asked the government of this country to quickly reach an agreement on the withdrawal of the armed forces of the member countries of the international coalition from Iraq.