Iraqi PM frustrated with West’s ‘failures’ over Gaza
As uncertainty sweeps through the Middle East, Iraq’s prime minister has been focused on development, travelling to London to negotiate a series of deals on the economy and security.
Yet it is the prospect of stability offered by a ceasefire in Gaza that represents a more valuable prize and it was on this subject that Mohammed Shia’ al Sudani seemed particularly frustrated when he met Sky News at a central London hotel.
He said: “The decision to stop the war is not just up to the Israelis, there are other factors that play a part, like the international community.
“Iraq has been seeking international partners to stop this destructive war, which [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu has been trying to lengthen for various reasons, including internal political reasons that interest him. One of which is to embroil the region in all-out war to give him more time in office.”
Iraqi PM’s patience ‘running thin’
Disagreements and misunderstandings continue to bedevil the ceasefire deal and the imprecise wording contained within the agreement suggests that a respite from fighting could be short-lived. It was clear that Mr Sudani’s patience was running thin.
He said: “It’s more than 16 months now, that’s enough, it’s time for the international community to take action. It’s failed to carry its responsibilities in regards to the grave violations of the rules of war in Gaza.
“Everyone realises that this war, this genocidal war, must stop and that efforts should be made, regionally and internationally, to reconstruct Gaza.”
Sir Keir Starmer does not use words like genocide to describe Israel’s activities in Gaza – but that is a symptom of the West’s failure, said Mr Sudani, to enforce the values they claim to advance.
Frustration over West’s ‘failures’
He said: “It is not only me but everyone is frustrated with the international community, the failure to recognise the rules of war, international law, humanitarian law, principles of human rights, ideals which everybody says they are fighting for but they’re not. All of these things are thrown against the wall.”
Sir Keir Starmer welcomed the Iraqi PM to Downing Street on Tuesday. Pic Reuters
Mr Sudani told Sky News that he shared his exasperation with Sir Keir when the two men met this week, yet it seems he has not had the opportunity to do the same with US president-elect Donald Trump.
The Iraqi PM said: “There was a phone call to congratulate him because he won the presidential election. It was a positive call, we both expressed our desire to cooperate.”
Read more from Sky News:
Gaza faces huge task of rebuilding
Families of hostages wait for news
Starmer makes surprise visit to Kyiv
Many believe Mr Trump’s re-arrival on the international scene will foster greater instability in the Middle East with his affinity for right-wing Israeli objectives. Furthermore, Mr Trump ordered the killing of key Iranian military leader, Qassem Soleimani, in the Iraqi capital Baghdad during his first term.
Careful not to judge Trump
Yet Mr Sudani was careful not to venture an opinion on Mr Trump.
“This is the choice of the American people, we have to respect their choice, our relations with the US are based on institutions, they’re governed by questions of strategy,” he said.
The Iraqi prime minister performs a political high-wire act, as he tries to maintain relations with Western leaders as well as Tehran, which provides funding and training to a number of militia groups which form part of Iraq’s security forces.
Munitions were routinely fired at Israel by some of these groups as the war in Gaza escalated.
“We’re not embarrassed in any way, we carry out our duties to enforce the law, to maintain security and stability in Iraq and reject all means of violence. We won’t allow any side to dictate the decision between peace and war,” he said.
Mr Sudani says he is in control.
“Yes, yes, certainly.”
World
Trump criticises Putin after potentially ‘historic’ meeting with Zelenskyy before Pope’s funeral
Donald Trump has criticised Vladimir Putin and suggested a shift in his stance towards the Russian president after a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy before the Pope’s funeral.
The Ukrainian president said the one-on-one talks could prove to be “historic” after pictures showed him sitting opposite Mr Trump, around two feet apart, in the large marble hall inside St Peter’s Basilica.
The US president said he doubted his Russian counterpart’s willingness to end the war after leaving Rome after the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican.
Follow live updates: 200,000 mourn at Vatican
In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said “there was no reason” for the Russian president “to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days”.
The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
He added: “It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!”
The meeting between the US and Ukrainian leaders was their first face-to-face encounter since a very public row in the Oval Office in February.
Mr Zelenskyy said he had a good meeting with Mr Trump in which they talked about the defence of the Ukrainian people, a full and unconditional ceasefire, and a durable and lasting peace that would prevent the war restarting.
Other images released by the Ukrainian president’s office show Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron were present for part of the talks, which were described as “positive” by the French presidency.
Mr Zelenskyy‘s spokesman said the meeting lasted for around 15 minutes and he and Mr Trump had agreed to hold further discussions later on Saturday.
The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet in the Basilica
But the US president left Rome for Washington on Air Force One soon after the funeral without any other talks having taken place.
The Ukrainian president’s office said there was no second meeting in Rome because of the tight schedule of both leaders, although he had separate discussions with Mr Starmer and Mr Macron.
The French president said in a post on X “Ukraine is ready for an unconditional ceasefire” and that a so-called coalition of the willing, led by the UK and France, would continue working to achieve a lasting peace.
There was applause from some of the other world leaders in attendance at the Vatican when Mr Zelenskyy walked out of St Peter’s Basilica after stopping in front of the pontiff’s coffin to pay his respects.
Donald Trump and the Ukrainian president met for the first time since their Oval Office row. Pic: Reuters
Sir Tony Brenton, the former British ambassador to Russia, said the event presents diplomatic opportunities, including the “biggest possible meeting” between Mr Trump and the Ukrainian leader.
He told Sky News it could mark “an important step” in starting the peace process between Russia and Ukraine.
Professor Father Francesco Giordano told Sky News the meeting is being called “Pope Francis’s miracle” by members of the clergy, adding: “There’s so many things that happened today – it was just overwhelming.”
The bilateral meeting comes after Mr Trump’s peace negotiator Steve Witkoff held talks with Mr Putin at the Kremlin.
They discussed “the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine”, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.
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Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks since the early weeks of the war, which began in February 2022.
Mr Trump has claimed a deal to end the war is “very close” and has urged Mr Zelenskyy to “get it done” in a post on his Truth Social platform.
He has previously warned both sides his administration would walk away from its efforts to achieve a peace if the two sides do not agree a deal soon.
Meanwhile, the Polish armed forces said a Russian military helicopter violated its airspace over the Baltic Sea on Friday evening.
“The nature of the incident indicates that Russia is testing the readiness of our air defence systems,” they said in a post on X.
On an extraordinary day, remarkable pictures on the margins that capture what may be a turning point for the world.
In a corner of St Peter’s Basilica before the funeral of Pope Francis, the leaders of America and Ukraine sit facing each other in two solitary chairs.
They look like confessor and sinner except we cannot tell which one is which.
Leaning forward hands together in their laps, Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy stare at each other in one photo.
In another, the Ukrainian president seems to be remonstrating with the US president. This is their first encounter since their infamous bust-up in the Oval Office.
The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
Other pictures show the moment their French and British counterparts introduced the two men. There is a palpable sense of nervousness in the way the leaders engage.
We do not know what the two presidents said in their brief meeting.
But in the mind of the Ukrainian leader will be the knowledge President Trump has this week said America will reward Russia for its unprovoked brutal invasion of his country, under any peace deal.
Mr Trump has presented Ukraine and Russia with a proposal and ultimatum so one-sided it could have been written in the Kremlin.
Kyiv must surrender the land Russia has taken by force, Crimea forever, the rest at least for now. And it must submit to an act of extortion, a proposed deal that would hand over half its mineral wealth effectively to America.
The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Afterwards, Zelenskyy said it had been a good meeting that could turn out to be historic “if we reach results together”.
They had talked, he said, about the defence of Ukraine, a full and unconditional ceasefire and a durable and lasting peace that will prevent a war restarting.
The Trump peace proposal includes only unspecified security guarantees for Ukraine from countries that do not include the US. It rules out any membership of Ukraine.
Ukraine’s allies are watching closely to see if Mr Trump will apply any pressure on Vladimir Putin, let alone punish him for recent bloody attacks on Ukraine.
Or will he simply walk away if the proposal fails, blaming Ukrainian intransigence, however outrageously, before moving onto a rapprochement with Moscow.
If he does, America’s role as guarantor of international security will be seen effectively as over.
This could be the week we see the world order as we have known it since the end of the Second World War buried, as well as a pope.
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