Blinken makes unexpected Iraq visit amid push to stabilize post-Assad Syria
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made an unannounced stop in Iraq on Friday on his latest visit to the Middle East aimed at stabilizing the situation in Syria to prevent further regional turmoil.
Blinken met in Baghdad with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani as part of the hastily arranged trip, his 12th to the region since the Israel-Hamas war erupted last year but his first since the weekend ouster of Syrian strongman Bashar Assad.
Blinken has already been to Jordan and Turkey on his current tour and will return to Jordan for urgent meetings on Saturday with Arab foreign ministers to try to unify support for an inclusive post-Assad transition that does not allow the Islamic State group to take advantage of the political vacuum in Syria and secures suspected chemical weapons stocks.
In Baghdad, Blinken 바카라 게임 웹사이트will underscore U.S. commitment to the U.S.-Iraq strategic partnership and to Iraq바카라 게임 웹사이트s security, stability, and sovereignty,바카라 게임 웹사이트 the State Department said.
바카라 게임 웹사이트He will also discuss regional security opportunities and challenges, as well as enduring U.S. support for engagement with all communities in Syria to establish an inclusive transition,바카라 게임 웹사이트 it said in a statement.
His trip comes as the Biden administration winds down with just over a month left before President-elect Donald Trump takes office. Trump has been highly critical of Biden바카라 게임 웹사이트s approach to the Middle East and skeptical of the U.S. military presence in both Iraq and Syria.
The U.S. and Iraq agreed in September to wrap up U.S.-led military operations against the Islamic State in Iraq next year, although Assad바카라 게임 웹사이트s ouster and the potential for the group taking advantage of a political vacuum in Syria could complicate the timing of the withdrawal, according to American officials.