ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iraq's Sunni vice president has stated that he would back current Shiite Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi for reelection next year based on certain conditions, particularly in regards to the Iran-backed militia, the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), otherwise known as Hashd al-Shaabi.
"We support him but not without conditions," said Iraqi VP Osama al-Nujaifi in an interview with Reuters on Wednesday.
Al-Nujaifi is currently in Washington to discuss issues facing Iraq post-ISIS with the US State Department and congressional officials.
"There must be political agreement based on mutual interests of Iraqis, an exit from sectarian politics ... controlling the weapons, and the balance in relationship with countries ... If we agree on these things, we can be together," he added.
Al-Nujaifi said that Abadi must "determine his position" as he belongs to the Shiite Dawa party which has close ties to Iran.
He also stated that elections would be impossible if the weaponry of the Hashd was not brought under government control.
Some western officials believe Abadi is too weak to reign in the Shiite militias alone as the Iraqi central government approved to transform Hashd into a legal but separate military unit last year.
"This of course shapes a threat to stability in Iraq if these weapons are not controlled and melded with the armed forces," Nujaifi said. "If there's any political disagreement, it could turn into armed confrontations ... The only correct way is to meld these forces with the armed forces and to control them."
"We support him but not without conditions," said Iraqi VP Osama al-Nujaifi in an interview with Reuters on Wednesday.
Al-Nujaifi is currently in Washington to discuss issues facing Iraq post-ISIS with the US State Department and congressional officials.
"There must be political agreement based on mutual interests of Iraqis, an exit from sectarian politics ... controlling the weapons, and the balance in relationship with countries ... If we agree on these things, we can be together," he added.
Al-Nujaifi said that Abadi must "determine his position" as he belongs to the Shiite Dawa party which has close ties to Iran.
He also stated that elections would be impossible if the weaponry of the Hashd was not brought under government control.
Some western officials believe Abadi is too weak to reign in the Shiite militias alone as the Iraqi central government approved to transform Hashd into a legal but separate military unit last year.
"This of course shapes a threat to stability in Iraq if these weapons are not controlled and melded with the armed forces," Nujaifi said. "If there's any political disagreement, it could turn into armed confrontations ... The only correct way is to meld these forces with the armed forces and to control them."
Nujaifi on Tuesday praised the leadership of PM Abadi, but advised him to form an independent political party if he wants to establish a working partnership with the country’s Sunni and Kurdish populations.
Hashd al-Shaabi is an umbrella of more than 60 groups who came together mid-2014 following a fatwa from Shiite Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani to drive out ISIS militants who were quickly gaining control of the country.
Leaders of Hashd are also pushing Baghdad to "recognize them as a part of the state's defense system and provide its fighters with salaries and pensions."
"The government should fulfill its responsibility of granting the rightful share of salaries for the members of Popular Mobilization Forces in the 2018 budget," Ahmad al-Assadi, Shiite member of the Iraqi Parliament and spokesperson for the Hashd, also known as the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) said last Thursday.
Demands from Hashd leaders come at a time when Iraq is preparing for general elections on May 15 as well as new budgets for 2018.
Kurds have condemned Iranian involvement in recent clashes between Peshmerga and Iraqi forces in the disputed areas since Iraqi military supported by Iran-backed Hashd took control of Kirkuk on October 16 as well as other disputed and border areas.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson who visited Saudi Arabia on October 22 called for Iranian "militias" to leave Iraq now that ISIS has almost been driven out of the country.
"Certainly Iranian militias that are in Iraq, now that the fighting against (ISIS) is coming to a close, those militias need to go home," Rex Tillerson said at a press conference in Riyadh.
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