Can Iraq meet US, Russia halfway?

In light of the complex landscape, Iraq must use its foreign diplomacy and awaken a US and Russian desire to work together against IS, so that Iraq can avoid a new conflict between the US-led coalition and Russian alliance.

Yet such a task requires that Iraq use its capabilities, in regard to its historic importance and engagement in the regional crises and priorities, to produce a US-Russian meeting point.

Questions remain: Why hasn't Iraq assumed such a role in the conflicting interests among Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states? How can it achieve a complex consensus such as a US-Russian agreement?

Those are logical questions, but they do not take into account that the facts on the ground in the region have changed since IS emerged as a regional and international threat, and that the mentality of the Iraqi governing system has also changed under Abadi's administration, which has been attempting to find common ground for dialogue.

The ball is in Iraq's court, even though observers assume otherwise. Iraqi leaders are concerned that their country could be turned into an arena for dangerous international conflict, or into a place for negotiations between the different conflicting parties. Iraq's internal political disputes, should they remain, will lead to the failure of the war on terrorism and undermine any chance to garner support from major countries in the ongoing war against IS in Iraq.