Thursday, July 23, 2009 WASHINGTON: Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki arrived Wednesday for his first White House talks with President Barack Obama, as the US leader pushes for stronger reconciliation efforts in his country. The White House meeting also is the first between Maliki and Obama since US troops withdrew from Iraqi cities at the end of June, a milestone in Iraq's rehabilitation after the 2003 US-led invasion. Maliki arrives in Washington having overseen a considerable transformation in his country since he took office three years ago, at a time of sprawling interfaith violence.His authority has been boosted in past years, and he is hoping for US support in his bid to ease UN sanctions slapped on his country after Saddam Hussein's 1990 invasion of Kuwait.The Iraqi leader had made his case at the United Nations earlier Wednesday in a private meeting with UN chief Ban Ki-moon and later with envoys of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States. "We were able to clarify... that Iraq does not appear to be a threat to the international community any more," he told reporters later. Maliki argued the sanctions were "no longer required" and said he was awaiting a report by Ban reviewing Iraq-related resolutions and the progress made by the Baghdad government to resolve the dispute. The sanctions require that Iraq satisfy Kuwaiti demands on reparations and the return of property, as well as demarcation of their shared border and the repatriation of the remains of prisoners of war.
Thursday, July 23, 2009 WASHINGTON: Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki arrived Wednesday for his first White House talks with President Barack Obama, as the US leader pushes for stronger reconciliation efforts in his country. The White House meeting also is the first between Maliki and Obama since US troops withdrew from Iraqi cities at the end of June, a milestone in Iraq's rehabilitation after the 2003 US-led invasion. Maliki arrives in Washington having overseen a considerable transformation in his country since he took office three years ago, at a time of sprawling interfaith violence.His authority has been boosted in past years, and he is hoping for US support in his bid to ease UN sanctions slapped on his country after Saddam Hussein's 1990 invasion of Kuwait.The Iraqi leader had made his case at the United Nations earlier Wednesday in a private meeting with UN chief Ban Ki-moon and later with envoys of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States. "We were able to clarify... that Iraq does not appear to be a threat to the international community any more," he told reporters later. Maliki argued the sanctions were "no longer required" and said he was awaiting a report by Ban reviewing Iraq-related resolutions and the progress made by the Baghdad government to resolve the dispute. The sanctions require that Iraq satisfy Kuwaiti demands on reparations and the return of property, as well as demarcation of their shared border and the repatriation of the remains of prisoners of war.
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