US Assistant Secretary of Near Eastern Affairs David Schenker has said that Washington looks forward to an independent Iraqi government to be formed quickly for the sake of the Iraqi people and for the United States to have a partner to work with in confronting challenges.
“We’re looking for a government that we can work with that will be responsive to the legitimate demands of the people of Iraq, a government that is committed to reform, a government that wants to fight corruption, a government that values Iraqi sovereignty,” Schenker said Friday.
This week, Iraqi President Barham Salih named head of National Intelligence Service Mustafa Kazemi as the country's third prime minister-designate this year, moments after predecessor Adnan Zurfi withdrew his candidacy.
Schenker told reporters in a teleconference that "if Kazemi is an Iraqi nationalist, dedicated to pursuing a sovereign Iraq, if he is committed to fighting corruption, this would be great for Iraq, and we think it would be great for our bilateral relationship."
The US official signaled support for Kazemi, calling him “competent” and an “Iraqi patriot.”
He said the PM-designate did a fine job when he was the former director of the Iraqi national intelligence services.
On Thursday, Kazemi said in a televised speech that the key objectives for his government would be to fight corruption and return displaced people back home.
Schenker said Iran-backed militias in Iraq pose a "significant" threat to US forces in Iraq, about a week after US President Donald Trump warned of an attack by Tehran or its proxies.
The US official said Washington needed to have a strategic dialogue with Baghdad to discuss financial, economic, security, and diplomatic partnership, revealing that such talks would happen in June.
When asked with whom the US government would negotiate in June if Iraq wasn’t able to form a cabinet, Schenker said, “June is still a couple months away. There – when we look at – we’re talking now about the composition of our delegation.”
