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Anonymous ID: c4d3e9 March 24, 2019, 3:50 p.m. No.5870562   🗄️.is đź”—kun   >>0815 >>0944 >>1081

Post-ISIL Iraq treads fine line, seeks role in region

 

BAGHDAD (AFP-Jiji) — Five years after the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group swept across Iraq, Baghdad is bidding to reclaim its role as a regional player while walking a tightrope between rival backers the United States and Iran.

 

The country is seeking to position itself as a “bridge” between rival powers in a region beset by deep divisions, says Iraqi political scientist Ihssan al-Shemmari.

 

Following more than a decade of international sanctions and 15 years of conflict — including the push to roll back ISIL, which ended over a year ago — violence in Iraq has dropped sharply.

 

As calm steadily returns, international leaders are increasingly looking to Baghdad as an important actor.

 

Top officials from both the United States and Iran, along with King Abdullah II of Jordan and senior figures from various western powers, have all visited the oil-rich country since January.

 

An invitation has been extended to Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, according to a government source.

 

French President Emmanuel Macron has said he will visit Iraq in the coming months after France announced in January that it would pump in €1 billion ($1.1 billion) to help the war-ravaged country rebuild.

 

An Iraqi official, requesting anonymity, said Baghdad has taken on the role of “messenger” in a fractured region.

 

The country has tried to mediate between Qatar, a key backer of Syrian rebels, and President Bashar al-Assad’s regime as Damascus presses to return to the Arab League.

 

Baghdad’s national security adviser Faleh Fayyadh has also visited the Saudi capital Riyadh “to deliver a message from Turkey, Syria and Iran about new arrangements in the region,” the official told AFP.

 

Baghdad has managed to juggle ties with Washington, head of an international anti-ISIL coalition, and Tehran, which backed Iraqi paramilitary groups that played a key role in expelling the jihadists.

http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0005627616