ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s future depends on how the developments in Syria unfold after the Baathist regime of Bashar al-Assad was toppled by a coalition of rebels led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) last week, the EU ambassador to Iraq said earlier this week.
“Now, obviously, we have to see what happens in Syria, everything in Iraq will be determined at the moment, from development there,” Thomas Seiler told Rudaw on Sunday.
Iraq used to be an ally of the Assad regime but kept a neutral stance on the latest developments in Syria, stating that they would not get involved in the conflict.
The 13-year uprising against Bashar al-Assad’s regime came to a quick end when a coalition of rebels led by the HTS launched a lightning offensive against the Syrian army late last month, culminating their victory with the capture of Damascus as Assad fled to Russia, ending over five decades of Baathist rule.
The HTS-led groups established a transitional government, led by caretaker Prime Minister Mohammed al-Bashir, who has promised a future Syrian state that guarantees the rights of all its citizens.
The EU diplomat also talked about Iran amid the new developments in Syria as they have lost one of their most important allies in the region and “tremendously lost influence” in Syria.
“Iran has tremendously lost influence now in Syria. Iran used this [Syria] as a bridge to transport weapons and other things to Lebanon, to Hezbollah, but also to other parts in the Middle East - at the moment this is gone,” said Seiler.
He added that the sanctions on Iran are not helping either, especially considering that the EU has found Iranian missiles in Ukraine and has imposed fresh sanctions on the country in addition to the ones already in effect.
“After we found Iranian missiles and drones in Ukraine - there were new sanctions imposed by the EU on Iran. But that’s not the way we would like to work together at long term so I think Iran is at the moment a little bit cornered if I can say,” Seiler said.
When asked about migration, Seiler said that most of the migrants arriving in Europe from Iraq are from the Kurdistan Region, adding that “people who are poor do not migrate.”
Tens of thousands of people from Iraq and the Kurdistan Region take perilous routes out of the country towards Europe yearly in hopes of escaping the endless crisis in the country, including the lack of employment, political instability, and corruption.
Around 20,000 people from Iraq and the Kurdistan Region left the country in 2023, and at least nine of them lost their lives on dangerous and illegal smuggling routes, according to the Summit (Lutka) Foundation for Refugees and Displaced Affairs.
