Rashid to an American newspaper: Iraq is ready to mediate between Washington and Tehran
Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid confirmed on Tuesday that Baghdad wants to play a mediation role between Washington and Tehran, while calling on US President Donald Trump to implement his promises regarding ending conflicts in the Middle East.
“Iraq has changed a lot from what it was under Saddam Hussein, and the time of entering into conflicts and challenging the rights of other countries is over,” Rashid said in an interview with the Washington Times, translated by Shafaq News Agency. “Some major companies, in the energy sector and others, are active here in petrochemicals and oil, and I don’t think we are facing a conflict with the United States. On the contrary, we welcome all the help we can get from the United States, and we want to have a really good and friendly relationship with the United States.”
He pointed out that “Iraq can play an important role in mediation because it is in constant contact with Iranian policy,” indicating that “Iraq has no reservations about meeting senior Iranian officials, and has played a role in making Iran and Saudi Arabia understand each other, and re-establishing the diplomatic service, which has benefited everyone, and has also made some suggestions to Jordan and other countries.”
Regarding Iraq’s possible role in Syria, the president continued, saying, “It is clear that Syria is an independent state and has a new administration or new rulers, and we want the Syrian government to reflect the will of the Syrian people, either through elections or through the democratic steps that must be taken,” stressing that “the Syrian administration must try to accommodate all segments of society, so that no one feels that he has been excluded or not treated as an ordinary citizen.”
He stressed that “there is one very important point for Iraq, which is the presence of large numbers of terrorists or families of terrorists on the Syrian border, and there is concern about that, and some arrangements must be made so that the border does not get out of control.”
Asked if the Iraqi president would receive an invitation to visit the United States, Rashid said, “I honestly don’t know. I sent President Trump a congratulatory message and encouraged him to implement what he promised to maintain peace in the world, to end conflicts,” noting that “life will not be easy, especially in our region, where we have conflicts in Syria, in Palestine, and we have problems in Lebanon, in Yemen, in Sudan, and in Somalia.”
Shafaq.com