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Iraqi PM in Amsterdam to Boost Partnership, Discuss NATO's New Mission

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani meets with his Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte in The Hague on Thursday. (AFP)
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani meets with his Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte in The Hague on Thursday. (AFP)
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Iraqi PM in Amsterdam to Boost Partnership, Discuss NATO's New Mission

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani meets with his Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte in The Hague on Thursday. (AFP)
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani meets with his Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte in The Hague on Thursday. (AFP)

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani kicked off on Thursday talks with officials in The Netherlands as Baghdad seeks to build a new relationship with countries of the international coalition that fought ISIS in Iraq.

The PM is accompanied by a high-level government delegation. He had paid visited to France and Germany last year to explore avenues to strengthen partnership and bilateral cooperation and investment opportunities in Iraq.

According to the PM’s office, Sudani’s visit came at invitation of his Dutch counterpart, Mark Rutte.

The officials held talks on agriculture, irrigation and water management technologies, as well as various economic and development sectors, said Sudani’s office in a statement.

The Iraqi delegation held meetings with representatives of prominent Dutch companies and Dutch economic leaders, businessmen, and representatives of institutions and companies keen on expanding cooperation with Iraq.

These meetings aim to foster partnerships and encourage contributions for infrastructure reconstruction and development projects in Iraq, the statement added.

Last month, Sudani informed Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren of Baghdad's decision to “rearrange the relationship” with the Global Coalition.

The Netherlands will take over the command of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) mission in Iraq in mid-2024 amid a raging debate among Iraqi political and government circles over the nature of Baghdad’s relationship with the coalition.

The coalition was formed in 2014 after ISIS seized four Iraqi provinces located in the Sunni-majority western regions of the country.

A well-informed political source told Asharq Al-Awsat on Thursday that Sudani’s visit to Amsterdam has several goals.

It aims to tackle Iraq’s intention to form constructive bilateral relations with members of the coalition, including The Netherlands.

The PM will address the arrangements that will take place after The Netherlands assumes leadership of NATO in mid-2024.

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Cyprus Can Help Rid Syria of Chemical Weapons, Search for its Missing, Says Top Diplomat

FILE PHOTO: A UN chemical weapons expert, wearing a gas mask, holds a plastic bag containing samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus August 29, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed Abdullah
FILE PHOTO: A UN chemical weapons expert, wearing a gas mask, holds a plastic bag containing samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus August 29, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed Abdullah
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Cyprus Can Help Rid Syria of Chemical Weapons, Search for its Missing, Says Top Diplomat

FILE PHOTO: A UN chemical weapons expert, wearing a gas mask, holds a plastic bag containing samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus August 29, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed Abdullah
FILE PHOTO: A UN chemical weapons expert, wearing a gas mask, holds a plastic bag containing samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus August 29, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed Abdullah

Cyprus stands ready to help eliminate Syria’s remaining chemical weapons stockpiles and to support a search for people whose fate remains unknown after more than a decade of war, the top Cypriot diplomat said Saturday.

Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos said Cyprus’ offer is grounded on its own past experience both with helping rid Syria of chemical weapons 11 years ago and its own ongoing, decades-old search for hundreds of people who disappeared amid fighting between Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriots in the 1960s and a 1974 Turkish invasion, The AP reported.

Cyprus in 2013 hosted the support base of a mission jointly run by the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to remove and dispose of Syria's chemical weapons.

“As a neighboring country located just 65 miles from Syria, Cyprus has a vested interest in Syria’s future. Developments there will directly impact Cyprus, particularly in terms of potential new migratory flows and the risks of terrorism and extremism,” Kombos told The AP in written replies to questions.

Kombos said there are “profound concerns” among his counterparts across the region over Syria’s future security, especially regarding a possible resurgence of extremist groups like ISIS in a fragmented and polarized society.

“This is particularly critical in light of potential social and demographic engineering disguised as “security” arrangements, which could further destabilize the country,” Kombos said.

The diplomat also pointed to the recent proliferation of narcotics production like the stimulant Captagon that is interconnected with smuggling networks involved in people and arms trafficking.

Kombos said ongoing attacks against Syria’s Kurds must stop immediately, given the role that Kurdish forces have played in combating extremist forces like the ISIS group in the past decade.

Saleh Muslim, a member of the Kurdish Presidential Council, said in an interview that the Kurds primarily seek “equality” enshrined in rights accorded to all in any democracy.

He said a future form of governance could accord autonomy to the Kurds under some kind of federal structure.

“But the important thing is to have democratic rights for all the Syrians and including the Kurdish people,” he said.

Muslim warned that the Kurdish-majority city of Kobani, near Syria’s border with Türkiye, is in “very big danger” of falling into the hands of Turkish-backed forces, and accused Türkiye of trying to occupy it.

Kombos said the international community needs to ensure that the influence Türkiye is trying to exert in Syria is “not going to create an even worse situation than there already is.”

“Whatever the future landscape in Syria, it will have a direct and far-reaching impact on the region, the European Union and the broader international community,” Kombos said.