Blinken meets Iraq PM to discuss Syria future, fight against ISIL

US secretary of state visits the Middle East after Bashar al-Assad’s government collapses.

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken has met Iraq Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani for talks on the future of neighbouring Syria during an unannounced visit to Baghdad.

Blinken visited the US embassy in the Iraqi capital on Friday on the final stop of his tour of the Middle East following the toppling of President Bashar al-Assad’s government in Syria.

Blinken and al-Sudani discussed “the conviction of so many countries in the region and beyond that as Syria transitions from the Assad dictatorship to hopefully a democracy, it does so in a way that, of course, protects all of the minorities in Syria, that produces an inclusive, nonsectarian government”, Blinken said, adding that Syria should not become a “platform for terrorism”.

“I think this is a moment as well for Iraq to reinforce its own sovereignty as well as its stability, security and success going forward,” Blinken said.

“The United States [and] Iraq together had tremendous success in taking away the territorial caliphate that Daesh had created years ago.”

“No one knows the importance of that more than Iraq because of the ongoing presence of ISIS [ISIL], or Daesh, in Syria, and we are determined to make sure that Daesh cannot re-emerge,” he said.

The opposition fighters who toppled al-Assad in Syria, led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, have disavowed al-Qaeda and ISIL and said they have no ambitions in Iraq.

Iraq opted not to allow Shia rebel groups to intervene in Syria as the opposition forces advanced and ultimately seized Damascus last weekend despite Baghdad’s concerns that unrest could spill over the border.

Gaza truce talks

Blinken arrived in Baghdad after stopping in Turkiye, where he also emphasised that it was “imperative” to work against a resurgence of ISIL.

He met President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who assured Blinken Turkiye would not ease up in the fight against ISIL in Syria despite its operations against Kurdish fighters who have allied with the US in the fight against the group.

“Turkiye will never allow any weakness to arise in the fight against Daesh,” Erdogan said while promising not to let up in his government’s pursuit of groups it sees as a threat to national security.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told Blinken Turkiye is committed to ensuring stability in Syria “as soon as possible” and preventing ISIL fighters from gaining a foothold there.

Blinken also said he saw “encouraging signs” of progress towards a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, urging Turkiye to use its influence to encourage the Palestinian group Hamas to accept a proposed deal.

“We discussed Gaza, and we discussed I think the opportunity … to get a ceasefire in place. And what we’ve seen in the last couple of weeks are more encouraging signs that that is possible,” Blinken said.

“We talked about the imperative of Hamas saying ‘yes’ to the agreement that’s possible, to finally help bring this to an end,” he said.

More than 44,875 Palestinians have been killed and 106,454 injured in Israel’s war on Gaza, which began on October 7, 2023, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.