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Iraq
US army forces supervise during a training session at Camp Taji, north of Baghdad. File photo: AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The Iraqi government is working on a timetable for troop withdrawal amid upcoming strategic dialogue with the United States, an advisor to Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi confirmed to Rudaw English on Wednesday.
Kadhimi’s security advisor Hussein Allawi said that the Iraqi government is working to set a timetable to “fulfill its promises to reduce the number of American advisory forces within the international coalition.”
“Launching the third phase of the Iraqi-American strategic dialogue is a success for the Iraqi government and the government of President Biden, and it will support democracy and combat terrorism," Allawi said.
Washington recently received a formal request from the Iraqi government to resume talks regarding the withdrawal of remaining US troops in Iraq, the Associated Press (AP) reported on Tuesday.
The White House confirmed the talks will resume in April, White House spokeswoman Jane Psaki said in a press conference on Tuesday, according to Reuters.
"We look forward to resuming our strategic dialogue with the Iraqi government in April. This will be an important opportunity to discuss our mutual interests on a wide range of issues," Psaki said.
"The meetings will also make it clear that the coalition forces are in Iraq solely for the purpose of training and advice to the Iraqi forces to ensure the impossibility of the restoration of IS [Islamic State]," she added.
Dialogue began under the administration of former President Donald Trump last June.
The US has significantly scaled back its number of troops in the country, citing Iraq’s success in fighting ISIS, coronavirus safety measures and tensions with Iran. There are now 2,500 US troops left in Iraq.
US forces have come under repeated attack since Washington's assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani in a January 2020 airstrike, also killing Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis, the Iraqi deputy of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF, or Hashd al-Shaabi).
Militias close to Tehran often carry out attacks on US and international sites in Iraq, including the US embassy in Baghdad and Iraqi military bases hosting coalition troops.
Iraq's parliament passed a non-binding resolution in favour of expelling foreign troops after the US assassinations.
US President Joe Biden spoke with Kadhimi on Tuesday and discussed recent rocket attacks against Iraqi and Coalition personnel, with an insistence from both sides to hold to account the perpetrators., according to a readout from the White House.
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