NATO Defence Ministers agreed on Wednesday, 12 February, on the principle of strengthening the Alliance's training mission in Iraq, announced NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. However, this mission is currently on standby for security reasons.
"As a first step, this will consist of taking over some of the Global Coalition's current training activities", he told the media, saying that this was about doing more within the existing mandate and operational plan for NATO's mission in Iraq.
Asked what this meant in practice, Mr Stoltenberg said that the Allies had taken a decision in principle and that they would continue to work on the details and figures and on the exact type of activities. In addition to "close coordination and consultation with the Global Coalition", the Secretary General explained that the Allies were "in close consultation with the Iraqi government on the possibility of expanding, intensifying, doing more. (...) Everything we do in Iraq will be fully coordinated and with the consent of the Iraqi government".
Once again, and while the Iraqi Parliament requested the departure of foreign troops, the Secretary General explained that NATO would remain in the country "for as long as we are welcome there, because we fully respect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Iraq".
Beyond this first step, ministers agreed to look at what more can be done, whether in Iraq or in the Middle East and North Africa, "to fight terrorism, build stability and strengthen our partnerships throughout the region", Stoltenberg said. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)