Iraqi foreign minister, Hoshiar Zibari, has dismissed demands by members of parliament to withdraw the country’s ambassadors from Kuwait, Iran and the United States as attempts to damage Iraq’s regional and international relations.
In an interview with Al Arabiya TV to be aired on Friday at 7:30 p.m. KSA time (4:30 p.m. GMT) Mr. Zibari said the appropriate way to settle conflicts with other countries is through dialogue.
He said special commissions could negotiate issues of border, foreign debts, and the Mubarak port, currently being built by Kuwait just over the border from the site of an Iraqi port under construction near Umm Qasr.
A South Korean consortium led by Hyundai began work on the Mubarak Al Kabir port in May, raising the ire of authorities in Baghdad who have repeatedly demanded a halt to the project, which they say will strangle Iraqi shipping lanes.
Regarding the US military withdrawal from Iraq, Mr. Zibari said it is tied to the US–Iraq Status of Forces Agreement that requires all US forces to be completely out of Iraq by December 31, 2011, unless Iraq demands an extension.
(Mustapha Ajbaili, Night Editor of Al Arabiya English, can be reached at: Mustapha.ajbaili@mbc.net)
Comments »