Baghdad embassy attack prompts Pompeo to delay Ukraine visit
WASHINGTON —
The breach of the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad has prompted Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to postpone his trip to Ukraine and four other countries.
Pompeo was to arrive in Ukraine late Thursday in his first visit to the country at the center of President Trump’s impeachment, then on to Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Cyprus.
He delayed the trip “to continue monitoring the ongoing situation in Iraq and ensure the safety and security of Americans in the Middle East,” State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said Wednesday. She said he intends to reschedule soon.
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Protesters burn property in front of the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad on Tuesday.
(Khalid Mohammed / Associated Press)
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Iraqi protesters use a plumbing pipe to break the bulletproof glass of the U.S. Embassy’s windows.
(Ahmad al-Rubaye / AFP/Getty Images)
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Smoke rises behind protesters at the embassy.
(Khalid Mohammed / Associated Press)
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Protesters pry the U.S. Embassy plaque from the entrance of the compound.
(Ahmad al-Rubaye / AFP/Getty Images )
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Demonstrators scale a wall to reach the U.S. Embassy grounds in Baghdad.
(Ahmad al-Rubaye / AFP/Getty Images)
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Smoke pours from the embassy entrance.
(Ahmad al-Rubaye / AFP/Getty Images)
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A man waves an Iraqi national flag as he exits a burning room at the U.S. Embassy compound.
(AFP/Getty Images)
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Protesters wave militia flags during the embassy siege.
(Associated Press)
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A fire burns during the embassy protest.
(Khalid Mohammed / Associated Press)
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An Iraqi militia leader takes a selfie at a gate to the U.S. Embassy during the siege.
(Ahmad al-Rubaye / AFP/Getty Images )
In Baghdad, Iran-backed militiamen withdrew from the U.S. Embassy compound after two days of clashes with American security forces. The U.S. has sent hundreds of additional troops to the Middle East to increase security in the volatile aftermath of the embassy attack and as tensions with Iran rise.
In Kyiv, Pompeo was to meet Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose July 25 phone call with Trump triggered the whistleblower complaint that led to Trump’s impeachment.
In that call, and through aides at other times, Trump pressed Zelensky to investigate potential 2020 election rival Joe Biden, his son, Hunter, and a discredited theory that Ukrainians and Democrats colluded to influence the 2016 election.
Pompeo also planned to meet Ukrainian religious, civic and business leaders to discuss human rights, investment and economic and political reform, the department said before the postponement.
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