October
6, 2007
WASHINGTON D.C., -- Senator Biden, Chairman
of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, met with
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani. President Talabani
welcomed the Senate’s approval of the Biden-Brownback
amendment last week supporting federalism in Iraq,
on a
bipartisan vote of 75-23.
He expressed his strong belief that the amendment
promotes the unity and territorial integrity of Iraq
and is not, as some have mischaracterized it, a call
for partition. He also emphasized that the amendment
is completely consistent with the decision Iraqis
have made to adopt a federal form of government in
their Constitution.
In addition, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki,
speaking in Arabic on Tuesday to al-Iraqiyah
Television, made the following remarks regarding the
Biden-Brownback Federalism Amendment: “They said
they welcomed federalism. If federalism is what they
really meant, why not? Federalism, after all, is
stipulated in the Constitution. We, too, talked
about federalism as this is a constitutional issue.” |
Delaware senator, chairman of the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee and US presidential Democratic
candidate Joe Biden
|
Iraqi President : Jalal Talabani, a Kurd |
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