Saudi drone attacks: Iraq says cannot cause harm to any neighboring country

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi said his country cannot cause harm to any of its neighbor countries, in what appears to be a clear denial of the use of Iraqi territory to launch drone attacks on the Aramco oil facilities in Saudi Arabia.

The Iraqi prime minister made the remarks during a meeting with Secretary General of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Jens Stoltenberg and his accompanying delegation in Baghdad, Abdul Mahdi’s media office said in a press statement.

“Iraq is on the right track in all fields, and witnesses remarkable stability,” the prime minister said at the meeting, expressing gratitude to NATO forces for their support to Iraq in the fight against Islamic State.

Abdul Mahdi stressed that his government “has a clear vision on how to deal with internal and external challenges,” adding that, “Iraq adopts a balanced policy serving its own security and the security of all regional countries.”

Stoltenberg, meanwhile, promised that NATO forces will continue to train Iraqi security forces and improve their capabilities to help them eradicate Islamic State remnants.

He paid tribute to the bravery of the Iraqi forces in liberating their country from Islamic State and freeing millions from oppression, saying this victory makes Iraq safer, and NATO safer too.

Earlier in the day, NATO said it is monitoring developments in the Gulf region carefully after Saturday’s attack on ARAMCO oil installations in Saudi Arabia.

“Any disruption to global energy supplies is clearly of concern to NATO Allies. We are monitoring developments carefully and with concern,” Stoltenberg said.

“I urge all parties to prevent further such incidents which pose a serious threat to regional security,” he added.