MOSCOW, July 22. /TASS/. Baghdad will never agree to deploy US permanent military bases on the Iraqi territory, Iraqi Ambassador to Russia Haidar Mansour Hadi said in an interview with TASS, commenting on media reports.

He said he knows nothing about the United States’ plans to deploy military bases in Iraq. "I don’t think that’s true because the United States withdrew its forces from Iraq back in 2011 and they have no plans to deploy permanent bases here. US servicemen who are staying in the country provide only consultancy. Deployment of military bases is out of the question," he said.

He stressed that his country’s government will say ‘no’ should the United States announce its plans to deploy military bases in Iraq. "I don’t think we will agree to have permanent presence of US bases. The Iraqi government has repeatedly said there is no US bases in the country. We insist that Iraq’s sovereignty is our number one priority. That is why it is up to the government to decide about any presence of bases," Hadi said.

The United States withdrew its forces from Iraq in December 2011 to return to that country in August 2014, after Islamic State (a terrorist group outlawed in Russia) has seized vast territories in that country. In December 2017, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said the terrorist group had been defeated. The anti-terror operation was supported by the US-led coalition, In early February 2018, the Iraqi prime minister said Baghdad had adopted a plan for gradual reduction of the alliance’s presence in the country.

According to the Iraqi mass media, some 5,500 US soldiers are currently deployed in Iraq, including in northern and western areas bordering Syria. In March, Iraqi lawmakers demanded the government say when the foreign contingent is withdrawn from the country. The cabinet however has not yet answered the lawmakers’ inquiry.