We will never let daily political issues hurt the strong friendship between Turkey and Iraq, says Head of Islamic Supreme Council

ANKARA (A.A) - January 26, 2012 - Head of Iraq's Islamic Supreme Council, Ammar al-Hakim, said Thursday that they would, as Iraqis, never let daily political issues hurt the strong friendship between Turkey and Iraq. Speaking at a joint press conference with the Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in Turkish capital of Ankara, al-Hakim said that Turkey and Iraq had deep rooted historic ties. Such relations are a matter of pride. Developing cooperation in all fields would benefit our peoples, al-Hakim noted. Our brotherly countries have many common interests. Turkey has become a successful economy in recent years and is a role model, al-Hakim underlined. We need initiatives that would strengthen the brotherly ties between Turkey and Iraq, al-Hakim stressed. The changes in the Arab world actually began in Iraq 10 years ago. We held elections and wrote a constitution. We made efforts to make use of Turkey's experiences, al-Hakim said. Touching on the ethnic and cultural structure of Iraq, al-Hakim said that Iraq needed an administration that embraced all ethnic and cultural differences. On Syria, al-Hakim said that they supported the legitimate demands of the Syrians for freedom and democracy. The solutions to be found by Syria will get supported by the friendly and neighboring countries, al-Hakim also said.