The United States acknowledges Iraq's right to decide the future of American and coalition forces on its soil but does not think they should withdraw, US Special Representative for Syria Engagement James Jeffrey told reporters on Thursday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd January, 2020) The United States acknowledges Iraq's right to decide the future of American and coalition forces on its soil but does not think they should withdraw, US Special Representative for Syria Engagement James Jeffrey told reporters on Thursday.
"At the end of the day this is obviously an Iraqi decision on the future of the American and coalition presence. We acknowledge that," Jeffrey said during a press briefing at the State Department.
The coalition and Iraqi officials are set to convene next week in Copenhagen to discuss operations against the Islamic State terrorist group (IS, banned in Russia) and other concerns the government may have.
"We are not interested in talking about withdrawal because, we don't think we should withdraw," Jeffrey added.
Earlier in January, the Iraqi parliament voted to expel all foreign forces from the country. The move came shortly after the US drone strike that killed top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani near Baghdad, to which Iran responded by firing missiles at two Iraqi bases hosting soldiers from the United States and its allies.
