Iraq reveals an “American apology” and shows willingness to mediate between Russia and Ukraine
Iraq reveals an “American apology” and shows willingness to mediate between Russia and Ukraine
2024-03-02 21:22
Shafaq News/ Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein announced on Saturday that his country is ready to act as a mediator to resolve the crisis between Russia and Ukraine, if there is a request from Moscow and Kiev to mediate.
Hussein told the Russian news agencies “Novosti” and “Sputnik”, on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomatic Forum, “If the two parties (Russia and Ukraine) approach us with a request for mediation, we will take steps in this direction.”
Hussein indicated that he was part of the contact team formed by the League of Arab States, which included the foreign ministers of Egypt, Algeria, Iraq, Jordan, the Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Sudan, in addition to the Secretary-General, in March 2022.
He stated, “This group was invited to contact the two sides and offer mediation. We visited Moscow and met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation (Sergei Lavrov), and in Warsaw we met with his Ukrainian counterpart and presented a proposal to mediate between the two parties, but the circumstances were very difficult.”
Relations between Moscow and Western capitals deteriorated to their lowest levels, against the backdrop of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine, which was launched on February 24, 2022, as many Western countries imposed unprecedented sanctions on Russia, with financial and military support for Ukraine.
In another matter, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein confirmed that “the United States of America apologized to Iraq for not warning it in advance about the air raids on Iraqi territory on February 2.”
Hussein said, in statements to Sputnik, on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomatic Forum activities, that “an American official offered us an apology regarding this situation,” without further details. US President Joe Biden said last month that he had directed the attack on targets in Iraq and Syria linked to armed groups supported by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, in response to their alleged role in the attack on US forces in Jordan.
shafaq.com
