Dep PM: "I was Mistaken" in Joining Govt

Al-Monitor:  You constantly talk about regional interference in the situation in Iraq. How do you view the methods of interference? And how do you think foreign interference can be stopped or undermined?

Mutlaq:  Regional interference has become a natural feature of our time, even if it is rejected by the customs and laws of the international community. Iraq has been, and still is being, subjected to a lot of interference, ever since the entry of Western forces, the dismantling of the former state's institutions and the improper building of the institutional structure of the current Iraqi state.

This opened the door wide for the interference of Iran and some other regional states in Iraqi affairs, and made Iraq a scene for the conflicts of [foreign] intelligence services. The people of Iraq are paying the price for this interference with their blood.

Promoting national unity [and] the existence of a balanced leadership that acts with wisdom and nationalism concerning issues and developments taking place in the country and that adopts balanced relations with regional countries — this could undermine foreign interference.

Al-Monitor:  How do you view the demands for a Sunni region? Do you believe they can be realized? If they were realized, how do you see the future of Iraq? Do you think that Iraq is headed toward division?

Mutlaq:  Sunni forces, including both political and popular forces, do not think that they can impose a demand for establishing a region on a sectarian basis. [The Sunni forces] are an outspoken advocate for the unity of Iraq. Were it not for the policies of oppression, marginalization, displacement, unjustified arrests and the looting of rights — which were an inherent feature of the era of the current government — these voices would not have raised this demand.

We always warned, on multiple occasions, that there is a limit to what one can endure that cannot be overstepped. We requested that the international community intervene, [especially] the United States, which is the primary one responsible for what Iraq has become today. [The United States] has moral and international obligations that it should not have abandoned.