US and Iraq will hold strategic dialogue in April -White House

US soldiers stand at a site of Iranian bombing at Ain Al-Asad air base in Anbar, Iraq. (File/AP)

• Iraq sent a formal request to Biden’s administration for a date to resume strategic talks
• The talks would be the first under Biden, who assumed office in January

WASHINGTON: The United States and Iraq will hold a strategic dialogue in April and the meetings will clarify that coalition forces are in Iraq for training and advising Iraqi forces so Daesh militants cannot reconstitute, the White House said on Tuesday.
“This will be an important opportunity to discuss our mutual interests across a range of fields from security to culture, trade, and climate,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement.
“The meetings will further clarify that coalition forces are in Iraq solely for the purpose of training and advising Iraqi forces to ensure that Daesh cannot reconstitute,” she added, using another acronym for Daesh.