Iraq to convene parliament as Maliki confirms Syrian airstrikes on ISIS
In a BBC interview, Maliki said Iraq welcomed Syrian airstrikes on militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, which operates on both sides of the Iraq-Syria border.
In a BBC interview, Maliki said Iraq welcomed Syrian airstrikes on militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, which operates on both sides of the Iraq-Syria border.
Iraqi Vice President Khader al Khuzaei issued a decree for the country's new parliament to convene on July 1, a step towards creating a coalition government amid deepening international concern of a larger regional crisis.
Speaking in a televised speech Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki agreed to stick to the timeline to create a new government. However, as CNN reports, Mr. Maliki went on to blame his own political rivals for 鈥渃oordinating鈥� the ongoing conflict in Iraq, specifically accusing Sunnis of aiding the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS).聽Maliki has rebuffed calls for the creation of an inclusive emergency coalition as US diplomats and others have urged.聽
There are no guarantees that the process to create a new government will move forward swiftly. In 2010 it took nine months to seat a government. Reuters reports that after Parliament meets they 鈥渨ill then have 30 days to name a president and 15 days after that to name a prime minister although the process has been delayed in the past."聽
In an interview with BBC, Maliki confirmed today what many already suspected: Syrian fighter jets on Tuesday bombed militant areas near the town of Qaim, something that the leader said he 鈥渨elcomed鈥� but hadn鈥檛 asked for.
Syrian involvement in the conflict in Iraq has prompted warnings from international leaders that the Iraqi conflict could morph into a larger regional one. Speaking yesterday in Brussels, Secretary of State John Kerry said:
The threat posed by ISIS has brought together an unlikely grouping of states with the US, Syria, and Iran all hoping for stability in Iraq. The BBC鈥檚 Jim Muir notes how the search for stability makes for strange bedfellows:
Maliki also revealed聽in the BBC interview that Iraq recently purchased used Sukhoi fighter jets from Russia and Belarus and they would shortly be used. Maliki said he had spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the phone last week.
The UK鈥檚 Foreign Secretary William Hague聽arrived in Baghdad today. Mr. Hague was quoted by BBC Arabic saying, 鈥淎s a friend of Iraq, the UK believes the urgent priority must be to form an inclusive government that can command the support of all Iraqi people and work to stop [ISIS] in its tracks.鈥澛�
Meanwhile, Reuters reports today that militants聽seized a town聽an hour outside Baghdad, home to four natural gas fields.