BAGHDAD / ISTANBUL
Iraq’s presidency said Thursday it rejects any form of “foreign interference” in the country’s internal affairs, after US President Donald Trump’s opposition to electing former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to a new term in power.
In a statement carried by the state news agency INA, the presidency said Iraq’s internal issues “are an exclusively sovereign matter, determined by the will of the Iraqi people under the constitution and through the democratic system based on elections.”
It said respect for national sovereignty is “a cornerstone of state-building and political stability, particularly during government formation,” which it said must be based “on the results of parliamentary elections held in November and the outcomes agreed by winning political forces.”
It reaffirmed Iraq’s commitment to a balanced foreign policy “rooted in openness and constructive cooperation with all countries” to bolster relations “based on mutual respect, noninterference in internal affairs and shared interests,” the statement said.
On Tuesday, Trump threatened to end support to Iraq if Maliki is elected as prime minister.
The threat came after the Coordination Framework, a coalition of Shiite parties, announced Maliki’s nomination for the post on Saturday, saying the decision was approved by a majority vote within the alliance.
Maliki served two terms as prime minister from 2006 to 2014, a period marked by major security challenges, including the rise of the ISIS (Daesh) terror group, which seized large swaths of the country before Iraq declared victory over it in 2017.
Iraq’s parliament on Tuesday postponed a session to elect a president after Kurdish parties requested a delay. Under Iraq’s power-sharing system, the presidency is held by a Kurd, the prime minister is a Shiite and the speaker of parliament is a Sunni.
Parliament is expected to convene in the coming days to elect a president, who will then task the nominee of the largest parliamentary bloc with forming a government within 15 days.
Writing by Mohammad Sio