Home pagePress CenterIn the Media A CSIS Statesmen’s Forum H.E. Samir Sumada’ie, Iraqi Ambassador to the United States, was quoted by Bloomberg, "Rice Plans to Press Allies, Neighbors, to Support Iraq."
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A CSIS Statesmen’s Forum H.E. Samir Sumada’ie, Iraqi Ambassador to the United States, was quoted by Bloomberg, "Rice Plans to Press Allies, Neighbors, to Support Iraq."
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will urge Iraq's neighbors and Arab allies this week to bolster their diplomatic support of Baghdad, arguing that Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is making progress on political reconciliation.
"I think it's fair to say that the neighbors could do more to live up to their obligations, because I do think the Iraqis are living up to theirs," Rice told reporters traveling with her before a refueling stop in Shannon, Ireland, on her way to Bahrain today and then on to Kuwait.
Neighboring countries have "certain phobias and unrealistic expectations of Iraq," said Iraq's ambassador to the U.S., Samir Sumaida'ie, in a speech in Washington earlier this month.
"Our Arab neighbors have disappointed us," he said at an event organized by the Washington-based nonprofit Center for Strategic and International Studies. "I think it's necessary for them to share some of the burden because a destabilized Iraq, a failed Iraq, would be a disaster for them."
The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is a private, tax-exempt institution focusing on international public policy issues. Its research is nonpartisan and nonproprietary. CSIS does not take specific policy positions; accordingly, all views, positions, and conclusions expressed in these publications should be understood to be solely those of the authors.
