Iraq not taking sides in Qatar dispute: Abadi

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – Prime Minister of Iraq Haider al-Abadi on Tuesday said his government was not taking sides in the recent political dispute against Qatar.

Speaking at a news conference in Baghdad, Prime Minister Abadi reassured the assembly that Iraq would not get involved in the diplomatic isolation of Qatar.

“We are not part of these differences; we are keeping good relations with all the countries,” he said.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and other nations cut diplomatic ties with Doha on Monday, accusing the country of supporting terrorism.

Qatar denied assertions made against it, labeling the decision from its neighboring countries to sever ties “unjustified” and with “no basis in fact.”

One of the origins of the dispute was regarding money paid in April by Qatar to Iraqi Shia pro-Iranian groups to free members of its ruling family abducted in Iraq in 2015, Reuters reported.

Asked about press reports concerning these claims, Abadi did not comment.

The Iraqi PM did address the ongoing battle against the Islamic State (IS) and said Baghdad was coordinating with Damascus to defeat the insurgents.

“We have communications with the Syrian government to secure the eastern Syrian areas, and we have one objective, which is to eliminate [IS],” he said.

Meanwhile, footage of a large convoy of Iraqi Hashd al-Shaabi troops, also known as the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), appeared on social media on Tuesday, showing the units moving toward the Iraq-Saudi border.

However, there was no confirmation the PMF were deployed in connection with the recent diplomatic tensions.

Iraqi forces had previously formed a defense line along the Najaf-Karbala-Saudi border, and the current PMF deployment appears to be a continuation of Iraq’s security build-up.

Editing by G. H. Renaud