Iraq leaders go abroad to beat political stalemate
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki will head for Damascus to meet with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, his office said yesterday, in the latest trip abroad for key Iraqi politicians struggling to form a government at home.
The visit, planned for today, is a part of a multi-leg tour that will take al-Maliki to a number of Arab states, the statement said, adding only that the purpose of the trip was to discuss “bilateral relations.”
His leaving Iraq is part of a larger pattern of Iraqi leaders visiting regional powers in recent weeks to discuss Baghdad’s political impasse, now in its seventh month.
Iraq has failed to form a new government since the March 7 elections, preventing progress on urgently needed legislation on matters ranging from security to electricity. But the visit also comes as formal relations between Baghdad and Damascus, which have been strained for decades, slowly improve.
Earlier this week, Iraq’s ambassador to Syria, Alaa Hussein al- Jawadi, was reinstated, following a collapse of full diplomatic relations over a year ago.
The prime minister’s trip follows a recent visit by his Iraqi rival, former premier Iyad Allawi, who also touched down in Saudi Arabia and Egypt during his last tour.
Allawi, whose Iraqiya List won the most seats in the elections for parliament, fell short of an outright majority, but has been vying for the premiership.
His aides have been in touch with Shia politician Ammar al-Hakim who has not yet announced his party’s pick for the premiership, but has been critical of al-Maliki -- in an effort to garner support for Allawi’s gain of the top post.
Al-Hakim, who heads the Shia-led Islamic Supreme Council, was himself on a regional tour, meeting earlier in the day with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo.
Gulf Times
Allawi, whose Iraqiya List won the most seats in the elections for parliament, fell short of an outright majority, but has been vying for the premiership.
His aides have been in touch with Shia politician Ammar al-Hakim who has not yet announced his party’s pick for the premiership, but has been critical of al-Maliki -- in an effort to garner support for Allawi’s gain of the top post.
Al-Hakim, who heads the Shia-led Islamic Supreme Council, was himself on a regional tour, meeting earlier in the day with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo.
Gulf Times
