Blinken holds cordial discussion with new Iraqi president

WASHINGTON DC, United States (Kurdistan24) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke on Friday with the new Iraqi president, Abdul Latif Rashid, as State Department Spokesperson Ned Price explained in a press statement published on Saturday.

The discussion followed a similar conversation that Blinken held with Iraq’s new prime minister, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, on Thursday, for which Price also provided a read-out. 

Read More: Blinken congratulates Sudani; welcomes his call for reform and pledge to fight corruption

“The United States stands ready to partner with the Iraqi government under our bilateral Strategic Framework Agreement to improve economic opportunities, advance Iraq’s energy independence [from Iran], and address the climate crisis,” Blinken told Rashid.

Blinken “also confirmed” the US “commitment to continue supporting Iraq in the enduring defeat of ISIS,” Price said.

Blinken and Rashid also “discussed the need to increase respect for human rights and fight corruption in Iraq, and our shared objective to preserve Iraq’s security, stability, and sovereignty.”

Rashid became Iraq’s new president on Oct. 13, after Sudani, along with Mohammed al-Halbousi, the Speaker of the Iraqi parliament, and Falih al-Fayyadh, head of the Popular Mobilization Forces and representative of the pro-Iranian Coordination Framework traveled to Erbil on Oct. 10 to meet with Masoud Barzani, head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), the largest Kurdish party.

That meeting made the final decisions regarding Iraq’s next government, precipitating Rashid’s appointment as president three days later and then Sudani’s designation as prime minister.

The KDP’s first choice for president was Hoshyar Zebari, Iraq’s first post-Saddam Foreign Minister, who served in that position from 2003 until 2014. However, a dubious ruling from Iraq’s Supreme Federal Court, reportedly adopted at Iranian direction, blocked Zebari from assuming that position.

As a young man, Rashid studied in Britain and received a Ph.D. in engineering from the University of Manchester. Thus, he is a fluent English speaker.

He is a member of the PUK and had family ties with Jalal Talabani, the late founder of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (Rashid’s wife is the sister of Talabani’s widow, Hero Ibrahim Ahmed.) But Rashid had grown more independent of the party and was the KDP’s compromise choice, even as the PUK continued to promote Barham Salih, Iraq’s previous president.

When the Iraqi parliament voted for the next president, on Oct. 13, Rashid was elected with 162 votes versus 99 votes for Salih.