Strategic dialogue with US won't affect relations with Iran: Iraqi Foreign Minister

WASHINGTON, United States — Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein has said strategic talks between the US and Iraq will not affect Baghdad's relations with Iran.

"We were in Tehran before we went to the United States...we delivered our message to the Iranians. They also know we came to Washington, our work is clear, and our messages are clear," he said.
 
In the US as part of US-Iraq strategic talks, Hussein spoke to Rudaw of the important discussions that took place in Washington, mainly focusing on the future of US troops in Iraq. 

"The goals we had set were related to how the United States and Iraq cooperate on security and military issues," he said from Washington, with economic and educational ties also on the agenda.

US troops were invited back to Iraq in 2014 to fight the Islamic State (ISIS).

Iraqi bases hosting US troops in Iraq have been repeatedly targeted in rocket attacks by Iran-backed militias following the US assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani at Baghdad airport in January. 

Iraqi protesters, on the streets since October, have rallied, among other issues, against foreign interference in Iraq, including at the hands of Iran and the US. Iran-backed groups are widely believed to be behind the deaths of more than 600 protesters since demonstrations began. 

The foreign minister also addressed Turkish airstrikes in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region

Violation of Iraqi sovereignty is an "old problem," he said.

"This issue needs to be discussed with the Turks, because Iraq needs to have good relations with Turkey. But before that dialogue begins, military operations must be stopped, you cannot start a dialogue if the war continues."

"Villages in Iraqi Kurdistan and border guards have been attacked and this is unacceptable," he added.

Hussein also said Erbil and Baghdad should have "internal dialogue" over the future of their relationship following budget fallouts. 

"For big issues, I think there needs to be a serious dialogue between Iraqi political forces and the political forces of Kurdistan, including where the relationship between the Kurdistan Region and Iraq is going."

Translation and subtitles by Sarkawt Mohammed