SECRETARY BLINKEN: Well, good afternoon, everyone. I just had the opportunity to meet with Prime Minister Sudani. I've been coming to Iraq for more than 20 years, and one of the things I told the prime minister was how striking it was flying in from the airport just to see all of the construction, the vibrancy of the city, the cars moving around. And I know as well really important work has been done to make sure that Iraqis have the services they need, and increasingly the opportunities that they want to build better lives. So it's been very impressive to see these changes, and I think it just underscores the importance of Iraq continuing to have the space to do that. That's what its people deserve.
We spent time talking about, understandably, the situation in Syria and the conviction of so many countries in the region and beyond that as Syria transitions from the Assad dictatorship to hopefully a democracy, it does so in a way that of course protects all of the minorities in Syria, that produces an inclusive, non-sectarian government, and does not become in any way a platform for terrorism. No one knows the importance of that more than Iraq because of the presence - indeed, the ongoing presence - of ISIS or Daesh in Syria, and we are determined to make sure that Daesh cannot re-emerge. The United States, Iraq together had tremendous success in taking away the territorial caliphate that Daesh had created years ago, and now, having put Daesh back in its box, we can't let it out, and we're determined to make sure that that doesn't happen.
I reaffirmed for the prime minister our commitment to working with Iraq on security and always working for Iraq's sovereignty to make sure that that is strengthened and preserved. And I think this is a moment as well for Iraq to reinforce its own sovereignty as well as its stability, security, and success going forward. And in all of this, what's happening in Syria does have an important impact, and it's very significant that Iraq along with many other countries in the region and beyond will make best efforts to support the Syrian people as they emerge from the Assad years. We'll be having an opportunity to meet tomorrow in Aqaba with colleagues from around the region, including the Iraqi foreign minister, and I look forward to pursuing those conversations.
For today, I'm also very pleased to be here with General Leahy, with our DCM Elizabeth Trudeau, the team here, to hear firsthand both from our diplomats and from our military the - how we see - they see the situation both for Iraq, for Syria, for the region. And to each of them, to our teams, I am immensely grateful. As I said, I've been coming here for more than 20 years, and having seen the succession of extraordinary diplomats, extraordinary military leaders here in Iraq, I'm grateful to be with both of you and your teams today.
Thank you.
