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Iraqi President arrives in Kurdistan from New York
30.9.2008
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September 30, 2008
Erbil-Hewler, Kurdistan region "Iraq", —
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani on Monday arrived in
the Erbil international airport coming from New York
city after taking part in the U.N. General Assembly
meetings.
“A number of senior Iraqi and Kurdish officials,
including Kurdish President Massoud Barzani, Vice
President Tareq al-Hashemi, Deputy Prime Minister Dr
Barham Saleh,www.ekurd.net
Kurdish parliament’s
Speaker Adnan al-Mufti and his deputy Kamal Kerkuki,
and a number of ministers, received the president at
the airport,” the Kurdistan television reported.
The president underwent a successful heart surgery
in the U.S. last August.
Talabani in warning on
Iraq-US deal delay
President Jalal Talabani warned that a delay in an
agreement on the presence of US troops in the
country beyond 2008 could undermine sovereignty. Talabani, who spent
nearly two months in the US for medical treatment,
said, however, that he expected an early conclusion
of the Status of Forces Agreement (Sofa) between
Washington and Baghdad. |
Iraqi President : Jalal Talabani, a Kurd |
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“We hope to reach good results (on the Sofa
agreement) because not reaching an agreement means
it will lead to a daily violation of the sovereignty
of Iraq,” he said in Erbil,www.ekurd.net
capital of Iraq’s
autonomous Kurdistan region.
Sofa is to put in place a deal for the future of US
troops after the UN Security Council mandate for the
multinational force expires on December 31.
But differences still remain, notably on granting
immunity to US soldiers for any violations committed
in Iraq and on the future command of military
operations on the ground.
No fears of Arab-Kurdish
conflict
Talabani said that there are no fears of an ethnic
conflict that may erupt in Iraq, while the President
of Kurdistan region Massoud Barzani admitted that
the Kurdish role in the Iraqi army has been ignored.
"Arab-Kurdish relations always render brotherhood
between the two races, and there are no fears that
an ethnic conflict may erupt in Iraq," Talabani said
in a press conference at Erbil International
Airport, after he arrived from New York.
From his side, Barzani and during the same press
conference denied that he accused Sunnis or Shiites
of ignoring the Kurdish role in the Iraqi army.
"Kurdish role in the Iraqi army is ignored, but I
did not accuse Sunnis or Shiites of standing behind
this issue" Barzani said.
Talabani, 74, left Iraq on August 2 to undergo
medical tests and treatment for his knee,www.ekurd.net
but doctors carried out
heart surgery after several tests showed that he had
a coronary condition.
The ethnic Kurd, who has been president since 2005,
travelled to the US for medical check-ups last year
and was also treated for dehydration and exhaustion
in neighbouring Jordan in February 2007.
Copyright, respective author or news agency,
AFP | VOI | Agencies
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