Tueller renews Washington's support for Iraq, identifies the reasons behind closing U.S. consulate in Basra

 
Baghdad-INA
 
The US Ambassador Matthew Tueller emphasized on Monday, the importance of Iraq's stability, while referring to the change in the mission of US forces at the end of this year.
US Ambassador Matthew Tueller said, during a dialogue table attended by the correspondent of the Iraqi News Agency (INA): "The strategic dialogue between Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi and the US President paves the way for a long partnership between Iraq and U.S." noting that "the relationship between the two countries is based on common interests."
He added, "Iraq is a great country with a long history, and its stability contributes to the stability of the Middle East, pointing out that corruption, external and internal interference will lead to the weakness of the Iraqi state."
 
He explained that the meeting between the two parties contributes to build a stable Iraqi state," noting that "the strategic dialogue meetings resulted in the United States' initiative and assistance to Iraq, through building the capabilities of the Iraqi forces, allocating of 155 million dollars for humanitarian assistance, as well as supplying the Iraqi government with 500,000 doses of Corona vaccine.
 
Tueller indicated, Iraq and the United States signed the strategic framework agreement in 2008, but the challenges faced by the two countries required to reformulate the agreement, stressing the possibility of cooperation in the fields of education, culture and many different fields.
 
 
The US ambassador also added that one of the topics discussed in the political dialogue is the United States' assertion of holding the accountability for those who commit acts of murder and assassination against the activists, praising the role of the Iraqi side in arresting a number of criminals.
 
Tueller pointed out that the American forces are leading the international coalition at the request of the Iraqi government to fight terrorism, affirming that the strategic dialogue included ongoing discussions in this regard, and it was transferred to a working committee in order to determine the need for the American forces and what they should provide to Iraq. As "The Iraqi side confirmed that there are tasks that require the cooperation of the international coalition, including training, combat advice, and exchanging of the intelligence information, as the Iraqi forces are the only ones who carry out the combat operations."
 
"The past two years have witnessed a great development for the Iraqi forces and they are able to fight ISIS, as the air force and F-16 planes, in addition to the ground forces, have increased the ability of the Iraqi forces to fight ISIS, Tueller added.
 
 
Tueller also  stated, "The restructuring of our forces does not mean the departure of all forces, but rather a change in their mission according to the timetable at the end of this year, and there will be U.S forces within the  international coalition for advice and training," noting that "discussions between the security leaders of the two parties to continue the assessment and the need of Iraq to combat ISIS as the role of the American side is to know the threat and providing the assistance requested by the Iraqi side.
 
On the other hand, Tueller stressed, "the importance of holding elections, and in response to the request of the Iraqi government, the United States contributed by a financial support to the UNAMI election monitoring mission in order to hold elections with high standards.
 
"We are aware of the importance of the economy in Basra and the southern cities, and we have taken the decision to close the consulate in Basra based on cost and security, and there may be a change later, but at the present time it cannot be reopened, Tueller affirmed.
 
He added, "We often hear from Iraqi officials that there are many obstacles facing the implementation of projects due to corruption," stressing that the stability and strength of Iraq is in the interest of the United States, especially since the country has significant and important resources in the world, and if they are exploited well, they will bring prosperity to the Iraqi people, thus it is important for the government to take action in this regard. "