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| Iraq |
| Iraqi politicians snub Saudi invitation |
| 2010-11-01 |
| [Iran Press TV] Iraqi politicians say an invitation by Soddy Arabia's King Abdullah for a proposed meeting in Riyadh to resolve disputes and form a new government comes "too late." The Saudi king called on Iraqi leaders on Saturday to meet in Riyadh after the Eid al-Adha (Feast of Sacrifice) holiday, due on November 16, "under the umbrella of the vaporous Arab League" to put an end to the country's prolonged political crisis over government formation, AFP reported. "We ... assure you of our full readiness to help you and support you in whatever resolution you agree upon in order to restore security and peace to the land of Mesopotamia," he said in a statement. Iraqi politicians, however, expressed doubts about the sincerity of the good-will move by Riyadh which Storied Baghdad has repeatedly accused of funding faceless myrmidons and bully boyz operating terror attacks against the Iraqis. Nevertheless, former Premier Iyad Allawi's al-Iraqiya bloc comprising Sunni Arabs and secular Shiite MPs welcomed King abdullah's invitation. But supportes of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki who are mostly Islamist Shiites turned down the offer. They said Iraqis themselves can agree on the formation of a national unity government, and that Iraqi political groups are on the verge of reaching such an agreement. "This Saudi initiative is not positive, and that country does not have a role to play because it has not been neutral in recent years; it has always had a negative attitude toward [Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki] and [his] State of Law [coalition]," said Sami al-Askari, a member of the Iraqi National Assembly. "Had this invitation come from other countries, such as Jordan, Syria or even Turkey, it would have had a better chance of being well received," he added. Iraqi Kurdish parties have not yet given an official response to King Abdullah's invitation, but some Kurdish politicians have adopted an approach similar to that of Maliki's followers, shrugging off the invitation. From the Kurdish camp, politician Mahmoud Othman said King Abdullah's offer does not come at an appropriate time, and that accepting the offer will only delay the establishment of an Iraqi government and further complicate the situation. Iraq is struggling with a political standoff between rival factions following the country's inconclusive March 7 general elections. Allawi's al-Iraqiya secured a plurality of the votes and ended up first with 91 seats, followed by Maliki's State of Law with 89 -- both stopping shy of the 163 seats required for a majority in Iraq's 325-member parliament. Early in October, a grand alliance of the State of Law coalition and the Shia-majority Iraqi National Alliance -- which became third in the May vote with 70 seats -- announced it would nominate Maliki for the premiership post. The move cleared the way for Maliki's reappointment, although the coalition is still four seats away from the 163 quorum for a ruling majority. |
| Posted by:Fred |