Faiq Zidan, president of Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council, and Steven Fagin, chargé d’affaires at the US Embassy in Baghdad, met in Baghdad to discuss the government program aimed at bringing weapons under state control.
One of the main topics of the meeting was the support Iraq’s judiciary would provide to the government during the implementation of the program. The program aims to bring weapons in the country under state control.
Coordination Framework prepares plan
Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council announced that a committee had been assigned within the Coordination Framework to implement the program. The committee is preparing a comprehensive plan as part of the process supported by the grouping of Shia political forces; the plan will be made public once completed.
The sides also stressed that the process should help Iraq maintain positive relations with the international community and contribute to the implementation of the constitution and the law.
Agenda of bringing weapons under state control
The Coordination Framework announced on June 1 that it supported bringing weapons under state control. Nouri al-Maliki, head of the State of Law Coalition, announced on August 18 that a committee had been established to work in coordination with the government and prepare the mechanisms needed to implement the process.
The meeting between Zidan and Fagin took place as political and government efforts to bring weapons under state control in Iraq have intensified in recent months.
Fagin’s meetings in Iraq
A few days before meeting Zidan, Fagin also met with Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein. The talks covered political and security issues as well as the government’s steps to bring weapons under state control.
Fagin began serving as chargé d’affaires at the US Embassy in Iraq at the beginning of September, replacing Joshua Harris.
