As relations between Iran and the United States continue to deteriorate, FRANCE 24 spoke to Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani in Paris. He warned that "any tension between the US and Iran, any tension between the regional countries, will reflect on Iraq negatively". Expressing hope that a new meeting involving Saudi Arabia and Iran will take place in Baghdad "in the coming weeks", he said the two countries were "keen to resume these meetings under our (Iraqi) auspices".
Although stating that "Iraq does not need combat troops", Prime Minister Sudani said his country needs cooperation with the US-led international coalition and with all countries involved in the fight against terrorism, adding that "groups (...) are threatening the security of the whole region".
With the Iraqi premier in France for energy and security talks with President Emmanuel Macron, Sudani hailed his visit as a "paradigm shift in the relations between Iraq and France", which have taken a "strategic path through the signing of a strategic partnership agreement".
