Blinken makes unannounced stop in Iraq amid push to stabilise post-Assad Syria

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made an unannounced stop in Iraq on Friday on his latest visit to the Middle East aimed at stabilising the situation in Syria to prevent further regional turmoil.

Blinken met in Baghdad with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani as part of the hastily arranged trip, his 12th to the region since the Israel-Hamas war erupted last year but his first since the weekend ouster of Syrian strongman Bashar Assad.

Blinken has already been to Jordan and Turkiye on his current tour and will return to Jordan for urgent meetings on Saturday with Arab foreign ministers to try to unify support for an inclusive post-Assad transition that does not allow the Islamic State group to take advantage of the political vacuum in Syria and secures suspected chemical weapons stocks.

In Baghdad, Blinken “will underscore US commitment to the US-Iraq strategic partnership and to Iraq’s security, stability, and sovereignty,” the State Department said.

“He will also discuss regional security opportunities and challenges, as well as enduring US support for engagement with all communities in Syria to establish an inclusive transition,” it said in a statement.

His trip comes as the Biden administration winds down with just over a month left before President-elect Donald Trump takes office. Trump has been highly critical of Biden’s approach to the Middle East and sceptical of the US military presence in both Iraq and Syria.

The US and Iraq agreed in September to wrap up US-led military operations against the Islamic State in Iraq next year, although Assad’s ouster and the potential for the group taking advantage of a political vacuum in Syria could complicate the timing of the withdrawal, according to American officials. (AP) GRS GRS