Envoys to Gulf called to discuss Iraq crisis

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has summoned India’s envoys to the Gulf nations for a meeting in New Delhi on June 29 to discuss the escalating conflict in Iraq and its implications in the region.

Envoys to Syria, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other countries in the neighbourhood of Iraq will take part in the meet.

However, New Delhi’s envoy to Baghdad Ajay Kumar has not been summoned as he is busy coordinating efforts to assist Indians stranded in Iraq even as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) insurgents inflicted defeat after defeat on Prime Nouri al-Maliki government’s forces.

“The meeting is to strengthen understanding of the region,” MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin told journalists on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the government reiterated that the 39 Indians kidnapped from the jihadist-held city of Mosul in northern Iraq remained “unharmed”.