The following is attributable to Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel:

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shiaa al-Sudani today.  The Secretary welcomed the Prime Minister’s bold steps toward energy independence and, by extension, improving services for the Iraqi people.  He commended the Prime Minister’s on-going efforts to reach an agreement between the Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government on the export of oil through the Iraq-Turkey Pipeline and management of oil revenues.  The Secretary discussed the situation in the region and reaffirmed his support for a stable, secure, and sovereign Iraq.