Iraqi President Barham Salih (L) shakes hands with U.S. counterpart Donald Trump in Davos, Switzerland, January 22, 2020. Photo: Iraqi presidency.
BAGHDAD,— Iraqi President Barham Salih met U.S. President Donald Trump in Davos on Wednesday despite domestic threats from Iran-backed Shiite militias, and discussed reducing foreign troops in the country, a statement from the Iraqi presidency said.
“During the meeting, reducing foreign troops and the importance of respecting the demands of Iraqi people to preserve the country’s sovereignty were discussed,” the statement said.
Shiite Kataib Hezbollah and Nujaba Movement made threats against the Iraqi President, telling him not to meet his American counterpart. Both militias fall under the Iran-backed Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF).
We emphasize the necessity of Barham Salih committing to not meeting stupid Trump and the squad of killers that accompany him,”Kataib Hezbollah security official Abu Ali al-Askari said in a Tuesday tweet.
“If, God forbid, this is violated, then Iraq and the people of Iraq will not accept or welcome the one who put his hand in the hand of criminals and terrorists, on whose hands is the blood of Iraqis,” the group said in a statement.
While less belligerent towards Salih, a number of other political figures also called for the meeting to be cancelled, including Deputy Speaker Hasan Karim al-Kaabi, who called on Salih to respect “Iraqi sovereignty”.
On 5 January, the Iraqi Shiite parliamentarians voted in favour of expelling US troops from Iraq, a move that was supported by the outgoing Iraqi prime minister, Adel Abdul Mahdi.
The threat provoked an angry response from Trump, who threatened “sanctions like they’ve never seen before” following the move.
Speaking to reporters during a press conference with Salih on Wednesday, Trump said the US and Iraq had “a very good relationship” and said the number of American troops in the country was “historically low”.
“We are obviously working on a lot of things together. We’re working on military, we’re working on ISIS. We have a whole host of very difficult things to discuss and some very positive things also. We have been friends and the relationship is very good,” US President Trump told reporters.
“You will be hearing whatever we do, but they like what we’re doing and we like them. And we have had a very good relationship,” US President said in relation to the 5,000 US troops in Iraq.
Despite talk of good relations, Trump was unwilling to rule out sanctions against Iraq, as he has previously threatened if Iraq were to forcefully expel US troops.
“We will see what happens because we do have to things on our terms,” the President said, before being cut off by Iraqi President Salih, who insisted Iraq and US share joint interests.
“It is an important opportunity to meet President Trump to talk about the developments in our neighborhood. These are challenging times, difficult times, and I look for a very fruitful and candid conversation with the President,” Salih told reporters.
“We have had an enduring relationship, and the United States has been a partner to Iraq, and in the war against ISIS. This mission needs to be accomplished,” added Salih.
“I believe you and I share the same mission for a stable, sovereign Iraq that is at peace with itself and at peace with its neighbors.”
This was the second meeting between the two presidents, who met in New York on the fringes of a UN General Assembly session last September.
The Iraqi president is already facing immense domestic pressure from Shiite blocs – especially those with strong ties to Iran – to appoint one of their nominees as the replacement to caretaker Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi, who resigned last month amid pressure from the country’s anti-government protesters and the country’s highest religious authority, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.
Salih has held off on the appointment, insisting that the demands of protesters – who have largely dismissed candidates for the premiership as perpetrators of cronyism, corruption and sectarianism – be met. The new premier will be tasked with forming a government amid protester demands for deep-rooted political change and concrete socio-economic improvements.
Over 500 people have been killed in the nearly four months since protests began on October 1, according to the Iraqi High Commission for Human Rights.
If the Salih-Trump meeting proceeds, “there will be a stance on the part of Iraqis towards him for violating the will of the people, ignoring the pure blood that this gang spilled,” al-Askari added, referring to Iraqi lives lost due to US military action.
“We will then say, ‘You are not welcome, and our free children will work on expelling him from the honorable and mighty Baghdad’,” he threatened.
Earlier Iraq’s Kurdistan Region president Nechirvan Barzani met with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum summit in Davos Switzerland on Wednesday for discussions about bilateral relations and ongoing tensions in the Middle East.
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