Baghdad – IA
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein, and United States Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, discussed the sanctions imposed by the US Treasury on Iraqi banks.
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A statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, received by the Iraqi News Agency (INA), stated that “Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Fouad Hussein, received a phone call from the Secretary of State of the United States of America, Anthony Blinken, as part of following up on the most prominent developments and regional and international issues of common interest, and they also discussed During the call to the attacks launched by the United States of America on military and civilian sites in the Akashat and Al-Qaim regions, which targeted Iraqi security forces and resulted in the martyrdom of a number of security forces and Iraqi civilians.
The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs affirmed, “The Iraqi government’s rejection of such attacks and the need to stop them and for Iraq not to be an arena for settling scores between warring countries,” stressing “the necessity of returning to the table of dialogue and negotiations within the framework of the meetings of the Supreme Military Committee.”
The statement continued: “The two sides also stressed the importance of working to strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries and continuing coordination and consultation during the coming period to pursue paths of joint action in order to confront the growing challenges in the region.”
The minister also touched, according to the statement, on the sanctions imposed by the US Treasury on seven Iraqi banks recently, which were preceded by sanctions on fourteen Iraqi banks. The reasons behind the imposition of such sanctions were not explained, and whether Washington imposed these sanctions was due to… The lack of discipline of these banks in implementing instructions and banking compliance rules, or for other political reasons, especially since the US Treasury Department is in constant communication with the Central Bank of Iraq.
The minister explained that “those banks have an important and major role in financing ration card expenses and providing food baskets for Iraqi families with limited income, and the minister officially called for a reconsideration of the US Treasury’s decision on the issue,” noting “Iraq’s keenness to build partnerships and cooperation with… Friendly countries and joint work towards confronting economic and security challenges in a way that supports the consolidation of stability in the region.”
For his part, Minister Blinken expressed his keenness to continue joint work and communication between the two sides, and to support the Iraqi government in various fields, especially in the field of economic cooperation.
