Iraqi minister: Romania sent experts to train local police

BUCHAREST, Romania – Iraq’s foreign minister has thanked Romania for sending dozens of advisers to train Iraqi police and invited the eastern European country to take part in his nation’s reconstruction.

Ibrahim al-Jaafari said Thursday that Romania had dispatched 50 advisers and three trainers to instruct police. He said Romania also offered to treat war victims in Romanian hospitals.

Al-Jaafari and counterpart Teodor Melescanu called for closer co-operation, weeks after U.S.-backed Iraqi and Kurdish forces drove the Islamic State group out of most of the country.

Romania is a staunch U.S. ally and supported it in Iraq.

Melescanu expressed support for the territorial integrity of Iraq, Syria and Yemen, saying a political solution is the only guarantor of a “climate of security and stability.”