Iraqi FM to Asharq Al-Awsat: Internal Divisions Affecting Ties with Neighbors

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein warned that the Arab region will be affected by the Ukrainian-Russian war.

In an interview to Asharq Al-Awsat, he predicted that the world will again be faced with a stifling reality: "You are either with us or against us," given the deep polarization between major world powers.

He underlined the need to turn to dialogue and negotiations and shunning violence and conflict. Iraq cannot tolerate another war because it has endured "over 50 years of wars, one after the other. Three generations have lived through war."

Chronic electricity crisis
Asharq Al-Awsat kicked off the interview by addressing the latest developments in Iraq's electricity crisis. Hussein described the crisis as chronic and which has existed before the "major change in 2003."

"We must acknowledge that we have never been able to resolve the electricity crisis. Since 2003 and until now, the crisis would either be connected to energy production, the distribution network, or the transfer of production to consumers," he said.

Another aspect of the crisis is that the three main power stations, which were built after 2005, all rely on gas. Iraq does not produce gas, he explained.

Another complication is the contract with neighboring Iran that relies on the import of gas to these stations. Iraq imports 1,200 megawatts of power to feed these stations. "If we combine the gas and electricity imports from Iran, we find that they account to 45 percent of our consumption. Iran, however, encounters its own crises. It is large country that needs electrical power or some of the gas that it exports to Iraq. At the same time, it imports electricity from other countries to meet its needs," said the FM.

That is why Iraq is considering turning to the Arab Gulf to meet its electricity needs, revealed Hussein. He said previous negotiations with the Gulf had discussed transferring 400 megawatts from the Gulf network through Kuwait to Iraq.

An agreement has been reached to buy electricity from Jordan and negotiations are underway with Turkey, he added.

Arab bloc and Iranian opposition
On the Iraqi-Jordanian-Egyptian partnership, an Arab bloc that was seen as a threat by Iran, which sought to obstruct it, Hussein said: "We only have a desire to build relations with our neighbors."

"This is firm principle in our foreign policy," he stressed. "Our ties with Jordan and Egypt are historic and have existed during the term of Prime minister Adel Abdul Mahdi. The history of this tripartite relationship began at the Cairo summit."

"This issue, therefore, has nothing to do with pressure from other countries, even though we have a political and economic need for this cooperation because Egypt is a producer and exporter of electricity," Hussein went on to say.

Ties with Washington and US administrations
Assessing Baghdad's relationship with the Biden administration, Hussein said: "It is a relationship with an allied country."

The Americans played a "significant role in the international coalition that toppled the former regime," he noted. "The Americans were strongly present in Iraq. They had deployed 160,000 to Iraq." An agreement was eventually reached and signed and the Americans pulled out.

However, with ISIS's emergence in 2011 and its eventual capture of a third of Iraqi territory, the Iraqi leaderships called on the US to help in fighting the terrorist group, he added. The international coalition, as well as countries outside this alliance, played a role in fighting the organization.

Iraq needed ties with western countries so that it could build the infrastructure of the oil industry and other sectors, said the minister. The external and internal wars have destroyed this infrastructure. "We need to be open to the world and build good ties," stressed Hussein. "We, therefore, believe that the ties between Baghdad and Washington are strong."

Asked to compare between the Biden administration and that of its his predecessor, Donald Trump, the FM replied: "The difference between the two is vast. I am not assessing them, this is left to the historians."

Russia's war on Ukraine
Turning to the war between Russia and Ukraine and its impact on the Middle East, Hussein said: "We are very worried over the situation."

"Should the conflict widen - God forbid - then it could turn into a global war that will leave behind destruction in several parts of the world," he warned. "The conflict could affect the Arab region as Russia is a major country and it has great interests and influence in the region." The US is also a major player, as is the European Union, he noted.

"That is why we are seeking to speak with several sides so that they would seek the peaceful route to address the situation through negotiations and dialogue, otherwise we will be headed towards an explosion," he said. "This explosion will expand and Iraq, Iran and the Gulf are not very far geographically from the crisis."

The crisis will impact the economy, he speculated. "Russia's conflict now pits it against the West. It has affected energy supplies and the oil market. This does not mean the danger will not reach the Gulf if the situation explodes."

Dialogue between the concerned players is necessary to resolve disputes. This is in the interest of the region, including Iraq.

The region wants to avoid wars because it has suffered enough from them, especially Iraq, Hussein added. "In fact, we are the victims of constant wars. Some three or four generations of Iraqis have been born during times of wars. They were raised during war. They have acquired a culture of war. They have become victims of the wars that have gone on for nearly 50 years, both insides and outside Iraq," the minister remarked.

"That is why we oppose war and violence. We have many problems with neighboring countries, but we do not think of or want to turn to violence," he stressed. "We must choose the path of dialogue and negotiations."

"Of course, when we speak of a major conflict between a major country with another or NATO, fears arise in our region that its flames may spread to us," stated the FM. Even as the major countries seek to rally support to their respective sides, it will be difficult for the nations of the region to become involved in this conflict.

"We advocate positive neutrality, meaning the solution lies in negotiations, dialogue and diplomacy. The solution does not lie in violence," he said.

Vienna negotiations
On whether Iraq fears that the Iranians and Americans would reach an agreement in Vienna, he noted: "It would be a good thing if they strike a deal through dialogue and negotiations."

"During the Trump era, the American-Iranian conflict impacted Iraq, on the security and political levels. We support reaching a solution to the problem between Iran and the US through an agreement between the two parties," he added.

"I believe that an agreement between Iran and the US will benefit them and the region," continued Hussein.

Turning to the several political problems in Iraq and their impact on foreign policy, the minister stated: "I acknowledge that we are a developing democracy. It has its ups and downs and many problems. Yes, the foreign policy is a reflection of the internal situation."

"Hope, economic development and stability on the inside will make it easier for the foreign minister and his ministry to draft a clear policy," he noted.

"Up until 2003, we had lived under dictatorship for a long time. After the collapse of the Baath regime, society became more open and parties began to emerge. They also took on approaches on how to deal with neighboring countries," he continued.

Different political approaches on how to deal with neighbors emerged. "That is why tensions in the region negatively impact Iraq. Conflicts in Iraq, in turn, affect its ties with neighbors," he added.

"I believe the Iraqi government has to launch dialogue with everyone to resolve existing problems, especially security and military ones, in order to strengthen the country's external position," said the FM.

"Resolving these problems will inevitably assure the neighboring countries of the situation in Iraq, because instability and problems, especially with forces that carry arms in Iraq, will also impact the region," he stated.

Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Ethan Goldrich has told Asharq Al-Awsat that the US does not plan to withdraw its forces from Syria.

The US is committed to “the partnership that we have with the local forces that we work with,” he said.

Here is the full text of the interview.

Question: Mr. Goldrich, thank you so much for taking the time to sit with us today. I know you are leaving your post soon. How do you assess the accomplishments and challenges remaining?

Answer: Thank you very much for the chance to talk with you today. I've been in this position for three years, and so at the end of three years, I can see that there's a lot that we accomplished and a lot that we have left to do. But at the beginning of a time I was here, we had just completed a review of our Syria policy, and we saw that we needed to focus on reducing suffering for the people in Syria. We needed to reduce violence. We needed to hold the regime accountable for things that are done and most importantly, from the US perspective, we needed to keep ISIS from reemerging as a threat to our country and to other countries. At the same time, we also realized that there wouldn't be a solution to the crisis until there was a political process under resolution 2254, so in each of these areas, we've seen both progress and challenges, but of course, on ISIS, we have prevented the reemergence of the threat from northeast Syria, and we've helped deal with people that needed to be repatriated out of the prisons, and we dealt with displaced people in al-Hol to reduce the numbers there. We helped provide for stabilization in those parts of Syria.

Question: I want to talk a little bit about the ISIS situation now that the US troops are still there, do you envision a timeline where they will be withdrawn? Because there were some reports in the press that there is a plan from the Biden administration to withdraw.

Answer: Yeah. So right now, our focus is on the mission that we have there to keep ISIS from reemerging. So I know there have been reports, but I want to make clear that we remain committed to the role that we play in that part of Syria, to the partnership that we have with the local forces that we work with, and to the need to prevent that threat from reemerging.

Question: So you can assure people who are saying that you might withdraw, that you are remaining for the time being?

Answer: Yes, and that we remain committed to this mission which needs to continue to be pursued.

Question: You also mentioned the importance of humanitarian aid. The US has been leading on this. Are you satisfied with where you are today on the humanitarian front in Syria?

Answer: We remain committed to the role that we play to provide for humanitarian assistance in Syria. Of the money that was pledged in Brussels, we pledged $593 million just this past spring, and we overall, since the beginning of the conflict, have provided $18 billion both to help the Syrians who are inside of Syria and to help the refugees who are in surrounding countries. And so we remain committed to providing that assistance, and we remain keenly aware that 90% of Syrians are living in poverty right now, and that there's been suffering there. We're doing everything we can to reduce the suffering, but I think where we would really like to be is where there's a larger solution to the whole crisis, so Syrian people someday will be able to provide again for themselves and not need this assistance.

Question: And that's a perfect key to my next question. Solution in Syria. you are aware that the countries in the region are opening up to Assad again, and you also have the EU signaling overture to the Syrian regime and Assad. How do you deal with that?

Answer: For the United States, our policy continues to be that we will not normalize with the regime in Syria until there's been authentic and enduring progress on the goals of resolution 2254, until the human rights of the Syrian people are respected and until they have the civil and human rights that they deserve. We know other countries have engaged with the regime. When those engagements happen, we don't support them, but we remind the countries that are engaged that they should be using their engagements to push forward on the shared international goals under 2254, and that whatever it is that they're doing should be for the sake of improving the situation of the Syrian people.

Question: Let's say that all of the countries decided to talk to Assad, aren’t you worried that the US will be alienated in the process?

Answer: The US will remain true to our own principles and our own policies and our own laws, and the path for the regime in Syria to change its relationship with us is very clear, if they change the behaviors that led to the laws that we have and to the policies that we have, if those behaviors change and the circumstances inside of Syria change, then it's possible to have a different kind of relationship, but that's where it has to start.

Question: My last question to you before you leave, if you have to pick one thing that you need to do in Syria today, what is it that you would like to see happening today?

Answer: So there are a number of things, I think that will always be left and that there are things that we will try to do, to try to make them happen. We want to hold people accountable in Syria for things that have happened. So even today, we observed something called the International Day for victims of enforced disappearances, there are people that are missing, and we're trying to draw attention to the need to account for the missing people. So our step today was to sanction a number of officials who were responsible for enforced disappearances, but we also created something called the independent institution for missing persons, and that helps the families, in the non-political way, get information on what's happened. So I'd like to see some peace for the families of the missing people. I'd like to see the beginning of a political process, there hasn't been a meeting of the constitutional committee in two years, and I think that's because the regime has not been cooperating in political process steps. So we need to change that situation. And I would, of course, like it's important to see the continuation of the things that we were talking about, so keeping ISIS from reemerging and maintaining assistance as necessary in the humanitarian sphere. So all these things, some of them are ongoing, and some of them remain to be achieved. But the Syrian people deserve all aspects of our policy to be fulfilled and for them to be able to return to a normal life.

Iraqi FM to Asharq Al-Awsat: Internal Divisions Affecting Ties with Neighbors