Iraq’s foreign minister believes country has averted civil war

IRAQ’S foreign minister last night said he believes his country has averted a civil war after five years of “tears and blood” and warned an abrupt US troop withdrawal would be disastrous.

Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said mistakes had been made, but Iraq has reached a turning point.

“These past five years I think were full of hopes and promises but also of tears and blood... and we’ve gone through a very, very difficult transformation,” said Zebari, a Kurd who has held his post in each successive Iraqi administration since the US-led invasion on March 20, 2003.