AMMAN, Jordan - President Bush said Thursday that he and Iraqi Prime Minister
Nouri al-Maliki agreed in high-stakes talks that Iraq should not be partitioned
into separate, semiautonomous zones.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki
is seen during his meeting with US President George W. Bush, Thursday,
Nov. 30, 2006, in Amman, Jordan. [AP]
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"The prime minister made clear that
splitting his country into parts, as some have suggested, is not what the Iraqi
people want, and that any partition of Iraq would only lead to an increase in
sectarian violence," Bush said after nearly two and a half hours of talks aimed
at stabilizing Iraq. "I agree."
Al-Maliki left the door open for countries like Iran and Syria to play a part
in Iraq's struggle for peace.
"We are ready to cooperate with everybody who believes that the need to
cooperate with the national unity government, especially our neighbors,"
al-Maliki said.
He said that "Iraq is for Iraqis and its borders will be sound."
Bush and al-Maliki had been set to start meeting on Wednesday, but that
opening session was canceled following disclosure of US doubts about the Iraqi
leader's capabilities and a Baghdad protest of his attendance.
But any tension over that stunning turn of events was not apparent when the
leaders appeared together before reporters. "He's a strong leader who wants a
free and democratic Iraq to succeed," Bush said.