Salih: Not Baghdad nor Washington desire to maintain military troops in Iraq

INA – Baghdad 

President of the Republic, Barham Salih, confirmed on Wednesday, that Baghdad and Washington do not want a permanent US military presence in Iraq.

"Iraq faces a long-term challenge to political and economic recovery, and we are also facing regional tensions, but we see signs of the spread of this conflict in the region, and Iraq is trying to bring the conflicting parties together," said Salih in a statement, received by the Iraqi News Agency (INA).

He added, "Iraq cannot be weak, nor can we plunge into conflict," noting that "most Iraqis want to move forward with the help of our partners and friends in the region in order to build a stable and prosperous country,"

"Iraq and the US do not want permanent US military troops in Iraq. We have the problem of Al-Hol camp, and everyone wants to throw their problems on us, as we have many foreign fighters, and Iraq cannot deal with this file. We need international cooperation," included Salih in his statement.

Salih explained, "Iran is our neighbor and we want to integrate it into the regional framework, but we are also keen on our sovereignty. We do not want Iraq to turn into an arena of conflict,"