By Muayed Tarafi

BAGHDAD

U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham on Wednesday said armed militias would constitute a “challenge” to Iraq’s incoming government while also praising Ankara’s role in contributing to regional stability.

Speaking at a press conference at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, Graham also said the Daesh terrorist group could only be decisively defeated by “a strong [Iraqi] economy and educational system”.

He also stressed the difficulties associated with defeating the terrorist group without a U.S. military presence in Iraq and Syria.

Nevertheless, Graham went on to assert that Iraq’s security situation had “greatly improved” in recent months.

Commenting on the U.S. military presence in Syria, the Republican senator added: “We have spoken to [Turkish] President Recep Tayyip Erdogan about Turkey’s concerns regarding our presence in Syria.”

Turkey, he added, “can serve as a force for stability in the region”.

Graham also said that the “major challenge” to Iraq’s next government would be how to deal with the many armed groups currently operating in the country and how to incorporate them into the Iraqi Armed Forces.

On Tuesday, a U.S. congressional delegation to Baghdad reportedly spoke with Iraqi officials about means of reducing the number of U.S. military advisors currently deployed in the country.