Biden meets with Barazani in Arbil

ARBIL / IraqiNews.com: Visiting U.S. Vice President Joe Biden met with Iraqi Kurdistan President Massoud Barazani in the Kurdish city of Arbil on Thursday. “A meeting is currently held between U.S. Vice President Biden and Iraqi Kurdistan President Barazani in the presence of outgoing Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government Kurdistan RegionG) Nejervan Barazani,” according to Aswat al-Iraq correspondent. The meeting is taking place amidst tight security measures as several roads close to the meeting place have been cut off while Kurdistan RegionG security forces are intensively deployed on the streets that were emblazoned with U.S., Iraqi and Kurdish flags. Biden had met with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani in the presence of prominent figures in the semi-autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan region. Earlier, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki told Biden that countries in the region, which he did not name, interfere in Iraq’s internal affairs and seek to influence the upcoming parliamentary election. Biden, who arrived in Baghdad on Tuesday Sept. 15, 2009, condemned the attacks that occurred in Baghdad last month and stressed Iraqi-U.S. efforts to combat terror. The U.S. official had met with Iraqi Vice Presidents Adel Abdulmahdi and Tareq al-Hashimi, Deputy Premier, Rafie al-Issawi, Parliament Speaker Iyad al-Samarraie and Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari. Biden’s visit is the second to Iraq in three months. Coinciding with his visit, mortar shells landed in the heavily-fortified green zone in central Baghdad, where the U.S. embassy is located. Two civilians were killed and five others wounded in the attack. AmR (S) 1