US Envoy to cover PMF-linked political positions – Shafaq News

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