Iraq has expressed its anger at statements given by the Egyptian ambassador to Qatar in which he described the Foreign Ministry's decision to move him to serve in Iraq as punishment, BBC Arabic reported.
Last week, Mahmoud Fawzy Abu Donia told Qatar-based news network Al Jazeera that the decision to move him was "punishment for him for revealing corruption in the embassy."
A diplomatic source told BBC that Iraqi officials expressed their discontent at the Egyptian ambassador's refusal to work in Baghdad.
Abu Donia was appointed Egypt's ambassador to Qatar in 2010. He previously worked as head of the General Department for Security at the Foreign Ministry and a consul general in London, Russia and Australia.
The source said the statements given by Abu Donia were not only injurious to the Foreign Ministry but also to Iraqis.
"There is an ambassador and a complete diplomatic crew working freely in Baghdad," the source said, adding that all Iraqi officials welcome their presence and are fully cooperating with them.
According to diplomatic tradition, the Iraqi government will likely decline to accept Abu Donia as Egypt's ambassador there.
