Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said Saturday that he had "serious concerns" about a review of US policy by a bi-partisan panel co-chaired by former secretary of state James Baker.
"We have some serious concerns about this report," Zebari, a Kurdish politician, told a Gulf security conference in Bahrain.
The report, published Wednesday, called for US troops to swiftly change from a frontline role in Iraq to training and support and for the United States to open talks with key Iraq neighbours Iran and Syria.
"Some security organisations need to be more effective", Zebari acknowledged, adding: "The relation between the Iraqi forces and the multinational forces was set on the wrong footing.
"The Iraqi government does not need any threat or latent threat to do this. We know it's our job."
Zebari said any diplomatic opening to Tehran and Damascus would have to come from Washington as the Iraqi government had maintained a dialogue since its formation, and warned that it would inevitably come at a price.
"We don't have any problems in talking to our neighbours... We've engaged all these countries very actively," he told the conference organized by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies.
"But here is my question. If the US wants to engage these countries, it shouldn't be a cost-free engagement. There will be a cost. No country will offer its services free of charge. What is the price?"
