Sunday, October 10, 2010
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has reached out to all rival parties to join in political talks to help the country out of its months-long political impasse.
"All of us, from all affiliations, have to sit together and talk and talk - even if it takes longer - until we reach a meeting point," the Associated Press quoted Maliki as saying in a meeting with Sunni tribal leaders in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad on Saturday.
"We cannot reach that point without respect and showing readiness to deal with the issues with flexibility and realism," he stated.
Major Iraqi politicians have been divided over who should form a new government following the March general elections when the country's former premier Iyad Allawi's al-Iraqiya alliance ended up taking the lead with 91 seats in the 325-member Council of Representatives.
Maliki's State of Law coalition followed with 89 seats and the Iraqi National Alliance (INA) with 70. The two joined forces later to form the National Alliance which is only four seats short of the 163-seat threshold for an absolute majority in the Iraqi parliament.
Maliki's appeal to rival slates comes as the incumbent premier is widely expected to claim office for a second term after his nomination by the National Alliance.
Allawi's al-Iraqiya bloc has already made it clear that it will not hold talks as long as Maliki is candidate for prime minister.
"All of us, from all affiliations, have to sit together and talk and talk - even if it takes longer - until we reach a meeting point," the Associated Press quoted Maliki as saying in a meeting with Sunni tribal leaders in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad on Saturday.
"We cannot reach that point without respect and showing readiness to deal with the issues with flexibility and realism," he stated.
Major Iraqi politicians have been divided over who should form a new government following the March general elections when the country's former premier Iyad Allawi's al-Iraqiya alliance ended up taking the lead with 91 seats in the 325-member Council of Representatives.
Maliki's State of Law coalition followed with 89 seats and the Iraqi National Alliance (INA) with 70. The two joined forces later to form the National Alliance which is only four seats short of the 163-seat threshold for an absolute majority in the Iraqi parliament.
Maliki's appeal to rival slates comes as the incumbent premier is widely expected to claim office for a second term after his nomination by the National Alliance.
Allawi's al-Iraqiya bloc has already made it clear that it will not hold talks as long as Maliki is candidate for prime minister.
