BAGHDAD/ Aswat al-Iraq: Independent Kurdish Alliance MP Mahmoud Othman regarded the talk on Premier Nouri al-Maliki's visit to Teheran without foreign minister as economic "something unacceptable and unbelievable".

 

Othman told Aswat al-Iraq that "the visit is not concentrating on the economic field, and leaving the political at a time the country is living in political turmoil".

 

He rejected the ideas of differences between Maliki and the Kurds, because "trade minister is of the Kurdish Alliance".

 

Othman insisted that foreign minister Hoshiar Zebari should accompany Maliki in this visit.

 

Many questions were raised for Zebari's absence from the delegation and were attributed to the differences with the Kurds.

 

State of Law independent MP Ali-al-Shalah announced today that Zebari is occupied with his "international obligations", stressing that "Maliki's visit is merely economic".

 

Premier Maliki's office announced yesterday that Maliki left for Teheran, heading a senior delegation to discuss bilateral relations.

 

The statement added that the visit will last for one day only.
 

 

The visit comes within the accumulating differences between Maliki and other partners in the government, Iraqiya and Kurdish blocs, amid differences on holding the National Conference called by President Jalal Talabani.

 

Iraqiya bloc accuses Iran of intervening in Iraqi internal affairs and financing and arming different types of militias in the country.

 

Iraq-Iranian relations were developed after the demise of the ex-regime of Saddam Hussein and US forces withdrawal at the end of last year.

 

Both countries try to solve complicated issues related to the Iraqi-Iranian war, 1980-1988, and others related to Shatt al-Arab, border demarcation and water cut offs by Iran .

 

RM (TR)/SR