Sadr does not rule out alliance with Abadi and Hakim: I work on a cross-sectarian bloc

Sadr does not rule out alliance with Abadi and Hakim: I work on a cross-sectarian bloc


 Jeddah / Said Al-Abyad

Muqtada al-Sadr, the leader of the Sadrist movement in Iraq, agreed in the visions during his meeting in Jeddah with the Deputy Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz. He said that they discussed several files of the region, including Yemen, Bahrain, Syria, Jerusalem, Iranian-Saudi relations, as well as Baghdad's relations with Riyadh, pointing out that the meeting was open to both sides. He stressed that Riyadh is the "father" of all, and has proved its strength as it works to bring peace to the region.
In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat published a week after al-Sadr's visit to Saudi Arabia, al-Sadr stressed that all the differences that prevail in the region can be solved gradually even if it takes time. "This includes the status quo between the four countries, namely Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, On the one hand, and Qatar, on the other, pointing out that the latter is sensitive to waiver, but will give up, and will return to her Arab lap little by little.
Sadr said he had called for the departure of the head of the regime in Syria, Bashar al-Assad, from his post for more than a month, saying that withdrawing Assad could contribute to peace.
On the existence of differences between Ammar al-Hakim and Iran, the leader of the Sadrist movement in Iraq that the situation does not reach a stage of disagreement, but there are some problems that have not been resolved so far, adding that there are also differences within the Supreme Islamic Council in Iraq, In the level of the wise.
In Iraq's internal affairs, al-Sadr stressed that the Iraqi state must be centralized without two armies in the country, saying that Iraq would face major problems if it did not reach the stage of merging government forces and popular mobilization under the leadership of the prime minister, .
The following is the text of the dialogue:
[Asharq Al-Awsat] You met the Deputy Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdul Aziz, what are the most prominent files discussed?
- I discussed with the Deputy Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques all files, including Iraq, as well as files in the region that included Yemen, Bahrain, Syria, Jerusalem, Iranian-Saudi relations, and Baghdad's relations with Riyadh.
The truth was that Prince Mohammed bin Salman was very frank with us during the meeting, as we were with him, and we talked about many topics, and he was very optimistic. There are projects to bring peace and renounce sectarianism in the region and my presence as a Shia to a Sunni region, Saudi Arabia on the basis of this visit, and this talk does not mean anything to us as much as ending the sectarian self being woven behind the border, and this is very important, especially that the aspirations of Saudi Arabia beautiful and good. I am very optimistic after my visit to Saudi Arabia that there will be new projects and cooperation with Iraq and throughout the region.
[Asharq Al-Awsat] How do you see the future of Saudi-Iraqi relations after Prime Minister Haider Abadi's visit to the kingdom?
- The visit of Haidar al-Abadi, the Iraqi prime minister, to Saudi Arabia, as part of the relationship between the two governments, and my presence in Saudi Arabia comes to be a relationship between the two peoples. We respect the entire Saudi people, we do not differentiate between one, and we want to improve the relationship between the brothers during this period. In the past ten years, there has been a certain sensitivity to be removed, the tension gradually reduced, and it is necessary to return Iraq to the Arab incubator.
[Asharq Al-Awsat] How do you see the withdrawal of Ammar al-Hakim from the Islamic Supreme Council and is he at odds with Tehran?
- The situation is not at odds. There are some unresolved problems, some internal problems in the Supreme Council, for the presence of large figures see themselves at the same level as Mr. Ammar al-Hakim. The wise brother saw that he did not remove them from the Supreme Council, and he proceeded to get out of it, and this is one of its morals, and then called the new trend the stream of «wisdom», and God willing will be a starting point to serve Iraq and the Iraqis. And this is one of the things required in this period, the service of the homeland is useful as the Islamic person useful to his country, and the national should not abandon his Islamic, but must be brought together.
[Asharq Al-Awsat] Do we expect an alliance between you and President Abbadi and Ammar al-Hakim in the upcoming elections?
- I have no objection to the alliance, not as a person, but as a tide, especially as we are in the form of a mass transit of quotas, from independent technocrats do not belong to anyone, in new faces, to take Iraq to safety while providing services to citizens. Iraq is currently in poverty, war and security problems as well as service, and the new government must take its hand for good.
Q: How do you see the reality of the popular crowd and its presence?
- I continue to say that the disciplined elements of the Popular Struggle factions and the other fighters who liberated the abducted areas - there are already disciplined elements - must be integrated under the security forces, police and other security forces. The Iraqi state must be centralized. It is difficult to have two armies in Iraq. It is therefore necessary to reach the level of integration, and it must be under the leadership of the Prime Minister, as well as the commander of the armed forces. If the crowd is out of state, it will cause many problems.
[Asharq Al-Awsat] Do you still call Massoud Barzani, the president of the Kurdistan region of Iraq, to ​​postpone the referendum on the secession of Kurdistan, and what is your vision in this regard?
- We do not want pressure on them, and have contacted them, and wished the least estimate to postpone the referendum, although the cancellation of the referendum on secession is better. We consider the Kurds from the formations of Iraq, and we want them to be «us and we», but some of the problems accumulated from the previous government led to their departure and reach such a degree that they want to secede. If the Kurdistan region is separated, Iraq will be affected. The presence of Kurds confers on Iraq democracy and freedom, and away from him will bring problems from home and abroad.
[Asharq Al-Awsat] Where did the file of tracking corruption symbols arrive?
- There are difficulties and many of them have not been overcome, but my hope in the new elections and the new government, if the Commission and the election law changed to fit the popular situation. There will be access to new people and competencies from technocrats and independents who serve their people.
The survival of the deteriorating government situation, corruption and theft, and going back beyond the borders, will harm the Iraqi people, and we do not support it. Therefore, there must be transparent elections to remove the corrupt in Iraq, and to try them to return what was stolen from Iraq's estimated billions.
Q: How do you find Iran's policies and interventions in the region?
- We want to calm the situation in the region, and bear all parties to each other, in order to reach the constants of a prisoner through the sectarian tension and political tension. Each has its own interests, especially in Iraq, which is still an open country. This intervenes, on the one hand, and that interferes on the other, and this results in conflicts. Today, we have carried out a reform, unity and unity project. We must not feed the bad that exists from all the spectrum, including me, but we must remove the bad to open a new page. Perhaps we can succeed in that.
Q: How do you see the reality of the region in light of successive events?
- The worst thing is that we have left our common enemy, and we are fighting each other. There may be solutions but they are not in a few days. Such visits between religions and faiths reduce tension and help to discard sectarianism, all of which need to be educated and clarified.
[Asharq Al-Awsat] Saudi Arabia has become a terrorist organization and has announced lists of Sunni and Shiite names.
- Saudi Arabia is consumed by the fire of terrorism and extremism, like all the countries of the world. There must be international solidarity to end extremist and terrorist ideology. We hope the Saudi government will deal with paternity and honesty in this regard, and the Saudi people should deal in the same way. The sectarian spirit in Saudi Arabia should not be inflamed, the Shiite remains its prestige, and Sunni remains the same, and the state treats and serves its people without separating them.
And talked with Prince Mohammed bin Salman about it, and his father was with them, and we do not hope that their destiny as a fate of what is happening in the areas of Iraq, and become booby traps and control terrorism on it.
* Involving the youth of Iraq in the Syrian war. How do you get them out, and what is your reading of the current situation?
- My reading and what I think is that the people decide their fate. We do not interfere with the affairs of others, and we ask others not to interfere in our affairs. I am a Sadrists that prevented the intervention of any member of the current in Syria, neither negatively nor positively. They are events in Syria and are resolved among the Syrians. There are Iraqi interventions that I imagine the government is slowly trying to prevent. After the end of Mosul there may be directions to free Syria from terrorism by the Iraqis or the popular crowd and I reject it, and the government also rejects it, and the reference rejects such a decision. We liberate our country and they liberate their country. Just as we do not accept the Syrians to fight in Iraq, we refuse to fight the Iraqis in Syria.
[Asharq Al-Awsat] Do you think that armed groups should leave Syria?
- The armed groups are supposed to come out (from Syria), and if the decision is mine, there is no interference in Syrian affairs. This decision I have made has made many people unhappy, but I want to preserve the blood of the Syrian people. (Iraqis fighting in Syria) build their homeland before they build the homes of others. The country is entitled to service from other countries, and if there is room to return and leave Syria and its people.
[Asharq Al-Awsat] Are you with Bashar Assad's death or his departure?
The truth is that more than a month ago, Assad called for Assad to step down, saving Syria, which is suffering from scourges and bloodshed in the streets. There is no infrastructure, wars and terrorism, with destruction. The occupation may enter Syria in the future, Arabism and Islam. If Assad steps down, there will be a breakthrough, and certainly a bigger peace.
Q: What do you think of the Huthis' intransigence and their rejection of the peace initiatives?
I really care about the humanitarian situation in Yemen, especially with the spread of poverty and disease, all because of extremism. If we gave up and treated with little wisdom, it did not come to this point in Yemen and elsewhere. I found great hope during my meeting with Prince Mohammed bin Salman. He decided that peace would prevail in Yemen, Bahrain and Iraq, and there are new aspirations for Saudi Arabia. Yemen, Syria and the region.
Saudi Arabia has proved its strength, and now it wants to prove its ability to bring peace, and I am very optimistic. With this approach, no party in Yemen has the right to remain stubborn and strict if he wants to save his homeland.
* The four boycotting states of Qatar for their support of terrorism announced a list of personalities and entities. How do you see that?
- I hope there will be a response from Qatar, and we do not want to inflame the enemy in us as Arabs. Riyadh and Doha are Arabs who have to be brothers, and Saudi Arabia is the father of all.
Perhaps the Qatari psyche is sensitive and does not want to give up, but in the end he will concede, and will return to his Arab bosom little by little, but the paternal and fraternal soul is important, and the escalation of the media is important, and we will find then that we have reached a great stage.


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