The UAE on Wednesday recalled Abdullah Ebrahim Al Shihi, the country’s Ambassador to Baghdad, for consultations in view of what it described as the dangerous developments in Iraq.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the ministry of foreign affairs expressed its deep concern over “the continuation of the policy of exclusion, sectarianism and marginalisation of basic components of the Iraqi people”.
The UAE believes that “such an approach will exacerbate the situation and will create a political environment that will lead to a further growth in political tensions and deterioration of the security situation in Iraq.”
The ministry said that “while reaffirming its condemnation of and deploring of the terrorism of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), and of other terrorist organisations, which has led to the killing of many innocent Iraqis, the UAE strongly believes that the way out of this cycle of violence cannot be found through more of the exclusionary and sectarian policies, and strategies that are embedded in the statement of the Government of Iraq issued yesterday, Tuesday 17th June.”
The ministry added that the UAE strongly believes that the only way to save Iraq and to preserve its territorial integrity and stability is through the adoption of a national approach that is based on consensus and that brings people together, without excluding anyone.
The statement reaffirmed the full and clear support of the UAE for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq, considering this to be a top Arab national priority, and also reaffirmed its “total rejection of any interference in its internal affairs”.
It concluded by emphasising the belief of the UAE that the only way in which Iraq can escape from the existential danger with which it is faced is through the adoption of a political approach that rises above divisions, through the creation of a government of national unity that does not exclude any of the components of the Iraqi people and that spares no effort to preserve its national unity, territorial integrity and stability.
