Lebanese president, Iraqi premier highlight strong bilateral ties, pledge to enhance cooperation

By Jomaa Younis and Rania Abu Shamala

BEIRUT/ISTANBUL (AA) - Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani reaffirmed the strong relations between their countries and their shared commitment to enhancing cooperation just a day after Baghdad summoned Lebanon’s ambassador over controversial remarks Aoun made about Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMU).

In a statement Thursday posted on X, the Lebanese presidency said the two leaders, during a phone call, emphasized the deep and longstanding ties between Lebanon and Iraq, “regardless of any factors that may impact them.”

The two sides expressed a “mutual desire to strengthen and develop bilateral relations in various fields,” the statement added.

Iraq summoned the Lebanese ambassador on Wednesday to express its discontent over the comments made by Aoun regarding the PMU.

In an interview with the London-based pan-Arab news outlet Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, Aoun said Lebanon would not replicate Iraq’s experience with the PMU to integrate the Hezbollah group into the Lebanese army or establish it as an independent unit within the force.

In response, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry summoned Ambassador Ali Habhab to express its discontent.

The PMU is “an essential component of Iraq’s official security and military apparatus,” said Iraqi Deputy Foreign Minister for Bilateral Relations Mohammed Bahr al-Uloom.

He called the PMU a legal and governmental institution under the authority of the Iraqi state.

The PMU was officially incorporated into Iraq’s armed forces in 2016 by a government decree, which designated it as an independent military formation under the command of the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

The force originated in June 2014, when thousands of volunteers joined the Iraqi security forces to combat the ISIS (Daesh) terrorist group after the militants captured key cities in the provinces of Diyala, Kirkuk, Nineveh, Salah al-Din, Anbar and parts of Babil.