Iraq, US to begin negotiations to end US-led coalition existence in Iraq
US Army soldiers stand outside their armored vehicle on a joint base with Iraqi army south of Mosul, Iraq. Photo: Khalid Mohammed/AP
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Sources told Reuters on Wednesday that Iraq and the United States will start negotiations to end the mission of the US-led coalition combating ISIS in Iraq.
The US Ambassador to Iraq, Alina Romanowski, handed over a letter with the message on Wednesday to the Iraqi Minister of Foreign Affairs, Fuad Hussein, according to Reuters.
The United States removed its demand that attacks against its forces by militant groups in Iraq that get support from Iran end first.
Without providing any details, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry stated that the Prime Minister would carefully review the letter that had been delivered.
The negotiations are not likely to conclude for many months, and there will not be an immediate pullout of US troops.
With 2,500 soldiers, the US is helping local forces in Iraq avoid the return of ISIS groups, which took control of large parts of both Iraq and Syria in 2014 before being defeated.
The Iraqi Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, said earlier that Iraq has not set a date for the swift and orderly negotiation of the withdrawal of US-led military forces from its territory, describing their presence as destabilizing considering the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
Prolonged demands for the withdrawal of the US-led coalition from Iraq by primarily Shiite Muslim groups, many of whom are connected to Iran, have gathered momentum following a series of US strikes on armed groups with ties to Iran that are also affiliated with the country’s official security services.
Fears that Iraq may once again become a place of regional conflict have been aroused by those strikes, which were carried out in retaliation for scores of drone and missile attacks on American soldiers since Israel began its war on Gaza.