Iraq and officials of the U.S.-led military coalition to defeat ISIS began talks in Baghdad on Saturday to review the mission’s future, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani’s office said in a statement.
While Al-Sudani has said he wants to agree a date with the U.S. and its allies for their forces to leave Iraq, the Defense Department in Washington says the meetings are not a negotiation about a U.S. withdrawal.
Three issues are on the agenda for military and defense officials in the U.S.-Iraq Higher Military Commission: the threat posed by ISIS, operational and environmental requirements and strengthening Iraqi security forces.
After the review “a specific timetable will be formulated to end the military mission of the coalition, and to move to bilateral security relations between Iraq, the US and partner countries in the coalition,” according the Iraqi statement.
“Our Iraqi partners have assured us of their commitment towards working together to shape this future on U.S. military presence and the enduring defeat of ISIS,” Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said Thursday.
The talks “will enable the transition to an enduring bilateral security partnership between the U.S. and Iraq,” she said.
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