ID :
305302
Sat, 11/02/2013 - 08:13
Auther :

Maliki, Obama Agree On The need For a Political Solution And Combat Al-Qaida In Iraq

Washington / NINA / Iraqi Prime Minister, Nuri al-Maliki assured, after a meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House, that his views are identical with Obama on the need for a political solution in Iraq and to fight the al-Qaeda ." Maliki said in a press statement after the meeting, which lasted for two hours, that: "He wants to make the elections, scheduled in April next year and he is fully agreed with Obama on the need for a peaceful and political solution in Iraq." Maliki pointed out that: "His talks with Obama focused on cooperation in the fight against terrorism as well as to discuss the Syrian crisis." He said: " We discussed with U.S. President about the necessity of activating the strategic framework agreement and cooperation to fight terrorism ," adding : "Iraq is seeking to buy U.S. Apache to fight terrorism and hit the nests of al Qaeda and we will sign the contract quickly to meet the challenges ,in addition to the medium weapons and intelligence systems . " Maliki pointed out that "the strategic weapons, such as combat aircraft, F-16, artillery and Abrams tanks need a long time and we are continuing to implement." The prime minister called on the U.S. administration to persuade Congress to pass these deals saying, "We met with members of Congress and conveyed to them our need for these weapons, especially the security challenges faced by Iraq and we hope they are convinced." He pointed out that "the United States believes that Iraq is an important focal point in the Middle East and the security and political stability will reflect positively on the region." On the Syrian crisis, al-Maliki said that "Iraq is affected by the repercussions of the Syrian crisis and we talked with the U.S leaders and officials in this regard and we told them Iraq's point of view." For his part, U.S. President Barack Obama said they discussed "how to coordinate to combat the increasing attacks taking place in Iraq." Obama said his country wants an Iraq that does not exclude anyone and free of violence, stressing the need for the adoption of the election law so that Iraqis can discuss their differences politically instead of resorting to violence. Whether Obama will seek to overcome opposition in Congress to provide military assistance to Iraq, the White House spokesman Jay Carney said: "We believe that the continuation of aid to Iraq is necessary and stop such aid would contradict with our interests." It is worth mentioning that prominent members of the U.S. Congress have sent, on last Wednesday, a message to Obama, reflecting tough stance to al - Maliki and blaming his government's actions in the escalation of violence. Lawmakers urged Obama to put pressure on al - Maliki to develop his strategy to achieve stability in Iraq. / End

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