Barham Salih said there is “general consensus” that Iraq needs continued collaboration with the forces, which he said can go on “as long as it is necessary.” He also warned that the threat from IS extremists is far from over, despite the announcement of the group’s territorial defeat in Syria last week.

Salih spoke to The Associated Press in an exclusive interview in Baghdad on Friday, March 29, a day before traveling to Tunis to attend an annual Arab summit meeting.

Some 5,200 troops are stationed in Iraq as part of a security agreement with the Iraqi government to advise, assist and support the country’s troops in the fight against the Islamic State.

IS overran large parts of Iraq in 2014 after Iraqi forces collapsed, and it proceeded to declare a self-styled caliphate over territory straddling Iraq and Syria.

US forces, which had left Iraq in 2011 after invading in 2003, were invited back in 2014 to assist the fight against the group. Iraq declared victory over IS in late 2017 after a ruinous and bloody war.

“They are here for the specific mission of empowering and enabling Iraqi forces in the fight against IS. Nothing else. That is the specific exclusive mission, and in that context, I do not see serious opposition to the presence of these forces in Iraq today,” Salih said.

Salih said any mission beyond what has been agreed to by the Iraqi government “is a subject that many political leaders of the country would take objection to.”

He said he recently led a conversation among all the major political groupings of the country, and there is “general consensus that Iraq needs that collaboration.” A debate or vote is not scheduled in Parliament for the time being, he said.

While he said the territorial defeat of IS was hugely significant, Salih said remnants of the group were still operating and moving around in both Syria and Iraq.

“This threat is far from over. We really need — we in Iraq, Syria and the entire international community — to be vigilant and to make sure that we deal definitely with this threat of extremism,” he said.

Salih also said the international community should shoulder its responsibility in dealing with the thousands of IS detainees and their families currently being held in Syria and Iraq.

Salih said that although he is personally opposed to capital punishment, he would abide by the Iraqi laws and the constitution if the French nationals were to be handed the death sentence.

In the interview, Salih added that Iraq is advocating the readmittance of Syria back into the Arab League, and he said he hoped that the remaining Arab countries would work together toward that goal.

Syria’s membership was suspended in 2011 in the early days of the uprising against President Bashar Assad.

“We better embrace Syria, and hope Syria overcomes the difficulties it has been facing. Simply isolating Syria is not the way to move forward,” Salih said. He rejected Trump’s decision this week to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which Israel seized from Syria in the 1967 war and annexed in 1982, saying the decision is not conducive to peace and security in the Middle East.

The Iraqi president also called for the withdrawal of Turkish troops from Kurdistan Region, adding that their continued presence was an obstacle to the development of relations between the two countries.

Reporter’s code: 50101

Iraq’s president said Friday he does not see any “serious” opposition to the presence of American forces in Iraq, provided they continue to be there specifically to assist Iraqi forces in the fight against the Islamic State (IS) group.

Barham Salih said there is “general consensus” that Iraq needs continued collaboration with the forces, which he said can go on “as long as it is necessary.” He also warned that the threat from IS extremists is far from over, despite the announcement of the group’s territorial defeat in Syria last week.

Salih spoke to The Associated Press in an exclusive interview in Baghdad on Friday, March 29, a day before traveling to Tunis to attend an annual Arab summit meeting.

Some 5,200 troops are stationed in Iraq as part of a security agreement with the Iraqi government to advise, assist and support the country’s troops in the fight against the Islamic State.

IS overran large parts of Iraq in 2014 after Iraqi forces collapsed, and it proceeded to declare a self-styled caliphate over territory straddling Iraq and Syria.

US forces, which had left Iraq in 2011 after invading in 2003, were invited back in 2014 to assist the fight against the group. Iraq declared victory over IS in late 2017 after a ruinous and bloody war.

“They are here for the specific mission of empowering and enabling Iraqi forces in the fight against IS. Nothing else. That is the specific exclusive mission, and in that context, I do not see serious opposition to the presence of these forces in Iraq today,” Salih said.

Salih said any mission beyond what has been agreed to by the Iraqi government “is a subject that many political leaders of the country would take objection to.”

He said he recently led a conversation among all the major political groupings of the country, and there is “general consensus that Iraq needs that collaboration.” A debate or vote is not scheduled in Parliament for the time being, he said.

While he said the territorial defeat of IS was hugely significant, Salih said remnants of the group were still operating and moving around in both Syria and Iraq.

“This threat is far from over. We really need — we in Iraq, Syria and the entire international community — to be vigilant and to make sure that we deal definitely with this threat of extremism,” he said.

Salih also said the international community should shoulder its responsibility in dealing with the thousands of IS detainees and their families currently being held in Syria and Iraq.

Salih said that although he is personally opposed to capital punishment, he would abide by the Iraqi laws and the constitution if the French nationals were to be handed the death sentence.

In the interview, Salih added that Iraq is advocating the readmittance of Syria back into the Arab League, and he said he hoped that the remaining Arab countries would work together toward that goal.

Syria’s membership was suspended in 2011 in the early days of the uprising against President Bashar Assad.

“We better embrace Syria, and hope Syria overcomes the difficulties it has been facing. Simply isolating Syria is not the way to move forward,” Salih said. He rejected Trump’s decision this week to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which Israel seized from Syria in the 1967 war and annexed in 1982, saying the decision is not conducive to peace and security in the Middle East.

The Iraqi president also called for the withdrawal of Turkish troops from Kurdistan Region, adding that their continued presence was an obstacle to the development of relations between the two countries.

Reporter’s code: 50101