US Envoy to cover PMF-linked political positions
Shafaq News- Baghdad
US envoy Tom Barrack is set to visit Baghdad and Erbil in the coming hours to discuss political and security issues, a government source told Shafaq News on Saturday.
The visit will address government positions linked to groups that expressed willingness to dismantle their military wings and integrate into the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), Iraq's state-sanctioned security umbrella. According to the source, the groups insist that their parliamentary representation entitles them to cabinet posts, including the position of deputy prime minister and a sovereign ministry, demands that continue to face opposition from Washington.
Read more: How the US pushed Iraq's armed factions toward disarmament, and who is still pushing back
Barrack will also review unresolved issues between Baghdad and Erbil, as well as a number of security-related files.
The US envoy’s visit will also help prepare for an upcoming trip by Prime Minister Al-Zaidi to the United States, “after discussions on proposals aimed at resolving complex outstanding disputes while preserving power-sharing arrangements,” the source added.
On May 31, US President Donald Trump announced the appointment of Barrack, Washington's ambassador to Ankara, as special presidential envoy to Iraq and Syria.
Read more: Trump's new Iraq-Syria envoy faces an Iran test Syria never posed
