BAGHDAD — Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House of Representatives, made a surprise visit to Baghdad on Sunday to meet with Iraqi leaders.
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Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki said in a statement that he had emphasized cooperation in economic and scientific fields in his meeting with Ms. Pelosi, Democrat of California. He also asked for support in protecting Iraq from foreign governmentsÂ’ compensation claims that date to the tenure of Saddam Hussein, said Ali al-Dabbagh, the government spokesman.
Appearing with the speaker of the Iraqi Parliament at a brief news conference, Ms. Pelosi, a staunch critic of the war, said the United States would work on cooperating with Iraq in sharing intelligence to keep security from deteriorating as American combat troops withdraw. She also spoke of developing a relationship in nonmilitary areas, like fighting corruption.
“We know there are problems,” Ayad al-Sammaraie, the Parliament speaker, said. “But we hope as the Iraqi government, or as Parliament, to gain from the partnership with the United States.” |