Tom Barrack and Fuad Hussein Discuss Alliance and Regional Challenges in Istanbul

The U.S. envoy to Iraq, Tom Barrack, met with Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein in Istanbul on Saturday, and they discussed the alliance between Iraq, the United States and Turkey and regional challenges.

Barrack said in a post on X: "I was honored to welcome Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein on the shores of the Golden Horn at the Tersane in Istanbul, Turkey. We spoke about the close and enduring alliance between Iraq, the United States and Turkey, and about the regional challenges we all face, challenges no single country can overcome alone."

He added: "It was an honor to hear the wisdom of one of the region's most respected diplomats and to take part in this conversation characterized by wisdom and civility. Since the era of the caliphs, the ships of Baghdad's envoys have anchored in this harbor; so it seemed fitting to continue this dialogue here."

He continued: "The oldest continuously used port in the world for diplomatic purposes. It sheltered the Greek colonists around 660 BCE, Constantine made it the port for the new Rome he founded, and Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror made it the gateway to a global empire, launching his fleets from the very shipyard we were standing in."

He added: "For sixteen centuries, every envoy to Byzantium and then to the Sublime Porte set foot on this ground beneath these domes; embassies were on one bank, the sultan on the other, and the waters between them served as the negotiating table."

Barrack said: "Standing here means standing in the place where East and West met, and where, over a longer period than in most other places, they chose dialogue over fighting. The Republic of Atatürk carried this legacy forward, and Turkey today continues to embody the role this port has always played: a place the world still comes to for its parties to meet and converse."

For its part, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry said in a later statement that the two sides discussed bilateral relations between the Republic of Iraq and the United States at the present stage, in light of the end of the mission of the international coalition forces in Iraq, and prospects for cooperation between the two countries going forward.

The statement added that the meeting addressed developments in the region, ongoing conflicts and their repercussions on security and stability in Iraq and regional countries, as well as discussing Iraq's financial and economic situations and developments related to the exchange rate of the Iraqi dinar.

The statement emphasized the importance of continuing communication and consultations and holding joint meetings to help strengthen bilateral relations and exchange views on issues of common interest.