Blinken visits Baghdad, discusses Syria with Sudani

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Baghdad on Friday where he met with Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani and discussed enhancing cooperation amid efforts to support Syria’s political transition.

“We spent time talking about, understandably, the situation in Syria and the conviction of so many countries in the region and beyond that as Syria transitions from the Assad dictatorship to, hopefully, a democracy, it does so in a way that of course protects all of the minorities in Syria that produces an inclusive, nonsectarian government and does not in any way become a platform for terrorism,” Blinken told reporters in Baghdad.

He highlighted US-Iraq ties and said they had “tremendous success” in defeating the “territorial caliphate [Islamic State].”

A statement from Sudani’s office said that in their meeting he reaffirmed Iraq’s position to help the Syrian people and “emphasized the importance of preventing any aggression on Syrian territories by any party, stressing that such actions pose a direct threat to the region’s security and stability.”

ISIS cells have taken advantage of the chaos created when regime forces withdrew from positions across the country. The militants have carried out attacks in the Syrian desert, gaining territory. 

The US army announced on Sunday that it carried out airstrikes against 75 ISIS camps in Syria to prevent the group from taking advantage of the security vacuum.

Before Iraq, the secretary of state visited Jordan and Turkey, speaking with regional leaders about supporting the Syrian-led political process.

In his meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday, Blinken “reiterated the importance of all actors in Syria respecting human rights, upholding international humanitarian law, and taking all feasible steps to protect civilians, including members of minority groups,” according to a press release from the US Department of State.

The regime of Bashar al-Assad was toppled this week after a lightning quick rebel offensive that ended over five decades of Baathist rule.

Turkish-backed forces launched their own offensive against Kurdish-held areas in the north. A US-brokered ceasefire is currently in place.