Iraq’s President, Prime Minister, al-Iraqiya Leader, to meet next week

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The Chairman of north Iraq ’s Kurdistan Coalition in the Iraqi Parliament, Fuad Maasoum, has expressed expectation that President, Jalal Talabani, Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki and the Leader of al-Iraqiya Coalition, Iyad Allawi, would meet next week to reach active means to settle the current political crisis in the country.   “The meeting of President Talabani and Prime Minister Maliki on Tuesday had been positive and had prepared a suitable platform for the second meeting that shall bring together the leaders of political blocs, to discuss the suspended dossiers related to the Arbil Initiative,” Maasoum told al-Sharq al-Awsat Newspaper on Wednesday.   President Talabani had met Prime Minister Maliki on Tuesday, when both sides discussed the current developments, political, security and economic situations in the country, with their viewpoints having been identical towards necessity to accelerate the activity to achieve the meeting of leaders of the political blocs.   “All signs are pointing out that the said meeting would be held in the first half of next week, with presence of Allawi and Maliki,” Maasoum said, pointing out that “there are agreements in this respect by both sides.”   Maasoum expected that “the said leaders would discuss active means to get out of the crisis, and their meeting won’t be of a mere protocol nature, without reaching agreements, to be binding for all parties, thing that have become of absolute necessity.”   Iraq had been witnessing a series of political crisis, since the nationwide elections that took place in March, 2010, in the background of distrust between the largest two coalitions in the Parliament and the government, the State of Law and al-Iraqiya Coalitions.   Al-Iraqiya Coalition, led by Iyad Allawi, demands the full implementation of the Initiative of Kurdistan President, Massoud Barzani, that had helped the formation of the cabinet on 21/12/2010, as regards to the distribution of the security cabinet posts and the formation of the National Council for Strategic Policies (NCSP), whilst the State of Law Coalition, led by Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, demands the resumption of talks to bring closer the joint viewpoints and to reach a settlement for the said differences.   SKH (FT)   1094