French Embassy Welcomes Direct Dialogue Between Baghdad and Washington

Shafaq News/ On Friday, the French Embassy in Iraq welcomed Baghdad and Washington's decision to initiate direct dialogue through the bilateral High Military Commission (HMC).

In a press statement, the embassy expressed its commitment to “stand by Iraq to defend its stability and sovereignty.”

"We are ready to deepen our bilateral cooperation, including strategic cooperation." The statement added.

Earlier, the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the U.S. Secretary of Defence revealed in separate statements that the U.S. and Iraqi officials will start working group meetings of the U.S.-Iraq Higher Military Commission in the coming days as part of a planned process both countries committed to last August and is not connected to recent tensions with Iranian-backed groups.

Expert working groups of military and defense professionals will examine the threat from ISIS, operational and environmental requirements, and the Iraqi security forces' capability levels.