The Combat Mission Of The Int'l Coalition In Iraq Is Over And The Iraqi Govt Affirmed Its Commitment To Protect Members Of The Int'l Coalition And NATO Mission In Iraq

Baghdad / NINA / - The Security Media Cell announced that the Iraqi government has reaffirmed its commitment to protect members of the international coalition and the NATO mission in the country. The Security Media Cell said in a statement: "Today, the National Security Adviser, Qassem Al-Araji, hosted a meeting between the Iraqi Military Technical Committee headed by the Deputy Commander of Joint Operations, Lieutenant General Abdul Amir Al-Shammari, and its counterpart in the coalition forces, headed by the Commander of the Solid Resolve Operations Forces in Iraq, Major General John Brennan (USA), in the presence of his deputy, Brigadier General Karl Harris (UK), Director of Interagency and Civilian Environment, Brigadier General Vincent Coste (France), and Director of the Office of Security Cooperation at the US Embassy, Brigadier General Keith Phillips. The meeting was also attended by the commander of the NATO mission in Iraq, Lieutenant-General Michael Lullsgaard (Denmark). The Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iraqi Army, the commanders of weapons (land - air - air defense - army aviation - the navy), the director of military intelligence and the representative of the Ministry of Peshmerga, who presented a list arranged according to priorities for institutional cooperation that the Iraqi security forces, the coalition and the NATO mission plan to focus on, were also present jointly over the next 24 months. The National Security Adviser, Qassem Al-Araji, confirmed: "Cooperation will continue between the Iraqi forces and the international coalition in terms of advice, assistance and empowerment, and he congratulated the assembled parties on the near completion of the transition process earlier than planned, and in accordance with the principles of the strategic dialogue." Major General John Brennan said that: "In light of the recent transfers of personnel and equipment outside Iraq, the coalition will complete the transition to non-combat missions before the end of this year, as agreed upon." The parties participating in the meeting affirmed their mutual commitment to continuous cooperation, as well as clearly defined how the coalition will continue to support the operations led by the Iraqi security forces. In addition, the Joint Operations Commands and the International Coalition discussed lessons learned from recent successful operations against ISIS. The meeting discussed ways in which the Iraqi security forces can coordinate and focus support from the coalition forces and the NATO mission to develop the institutional and operational capabilities of the Iraqi security forces. The gathered parties affirmed: "The members of the international coalition will be present at the invitation of the Iraqi government to provide advice, assistance and empowerment to the Iraqi forces in achieving their goals to protect the Iraqi people and eliminate ISIS, and that their presence will be exclusively in accordance with Iraqi sovereignty and international laws and norms, where the Iraqi government reiterated its commitment to protecting members of the international coalition and the NATO mission in Iraq. The gathered parties also confirmed their plan to re-evaluate the progress made in this relationship on a quarterly basis, and within the framework of the Iraqi Security Coordination Group. It is mentioned that the National Security Adviser, Qassem Al-Araji, officially announced the end of the combat missions of the coalition forces and their withdrawal from Iraq. Al-Araji confirmed in his tweet on Twitter: "Today we ended the last round of dialogue with the International Coalition, which we started last year, to officially announce the end of the combat missions of the Coalition forces and their withdrawal from Iraq, and the relationship with the International Coalition will continue in the field of training, advice and empowerment."/ End