Blinken makes unannounced Iraq visit as part of Syria diplomacy push

BAGHDAD: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made an unannounced visit to Iraq on Friday (Dec 13) to meet Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani for talks on the future of neighbouring Syria.

Blinken is touring the region in the wake of the swift collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s government in the face of an advance by Syrian opposition factions.

Blinken also met with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Friday to discuss the need for continued efforts to counter any resurgence of Islamic State in Syria.

Washington’s top diplomat said he discussed the imperative of Palestinian militant group Hamas saying “yes” to a Gaza ceasefire agreement in his talks with Turkey’s president and foreign minister. A US official said Hamas has softened its position in ceasefire talks.

The US hopes to establish a united front with Arab and Turkish allies on the set of principles that Washington hopes will guide Syria’s political transition, such as inclusivity and respect for minorities.

He said on Monday that the Islamic State group would try to use this period to re-establish capabilities in Syria, but the United States was determined not to let that happen.

The outgoing US administration of President Joe Biden is urging the victorious rebels who push Assad out of Damascus to create a government that eschews Islamist factions and is inclusive of Syria’s minorities.

A US official told Reuters that Washington sees this moment as an opportunity to continue to push back Iran’s influence in the region.

Iraq, which is led by a coalition of mostly Shi’ite political parties and armed groups close to Iran, is a major player in Tehran’s so-called Axis of Resistance that includes Hamas in Gaza and Lebanese Hezbollah and has faced setbacks since Israel responded to Hamas’ Oct 7, 2023 attacks.

Iraq opted not to allow Shi’ite militias to intervene in Syria as Sunni rebels advanced and ultimately seized Damascus last weekend, despite Baghdad’s concerns that unrest could spill over.

Thousands of Sunni fighters crossed from Syria into Iraq after the 2003 US invasion and fueled years of sectarian killing before returning in 2013 as Islamic State to conquer a third of the country.

Opposition factions in Syria led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham have disavowed al Qaeda and Islamic State and say they have no ambitions in Iraq.

As the rebels in Syria advanced, Iraq had amassed on its border thousands of fighters from its conventional military as well as the Popular Mobilization Forces, a security agency containing many Iran-aligned armed groups that previously fought in Syria.