Iraqi Foreign Ministry officially objects to the British Ambassador's statements.
Arab Sea Newspaper - Special
Arab Sea - Agencies: On Sunday, the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs officially informed the UK Ambassador, Irfan Siddiq, of its strong objection to the recent media statements issued on Friday, which the Iraqi government considered "a violation of diplomatic norms and interference in the internal affairs of the state." The Undersecretary of the Ministry for Bilateral Affairs, Ambassador Muhammad Hussein Bahr Al-Uloom, expressed the government's deep concern at a meeting held at the Ministry's headquarters on Sunday, reiterating that "this behavior contradicts the provisions of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which obliges diplomatic representatives to respect the laws and regulations of the host country and refrain from interfering in its internal affairs." The Iraqi government urged the ambassador to refrain from any further statements or activities of this kind, and to act in a way that supports friendly relations between the two countries. In a press statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stressed the need to adhere to constructive diplomatic communication and to uphold the principles of mutual respect and non-interference in the internal affairs of states. The British Ambassador to Iraq stated in a televised interview on Friday that the need for the Popular Mobilization Forces in Iraq has ended.