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Talabani: Iraq Will Work to Resolve Regional Conflicts | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat- All Iraqis have equal rights and are entitled to become president or prime minister if they possess the necessary qualifications, according to Iraqi president Jalal Talabani.

He told Asharq al Awsat on Monday that excluding the Kurds or opposing their appointment to certain posts demonstrates prejudice and has no place in a united Iraq, in reference to the opposition in some Sunni circles to the appointment of a Kurd to head Iraq’s foreign ministry.

Asked about the regional threats currently facing Iraq, the president said, “Give me a government of national unity and a delegation from this government to visit Tehran and Ankara and solve the problems. If I fail to solve them, I shall go to Sulmaniya and hand in my resignation.”

“If Iran allows itself to interfere in Karbala , because it is a Shiaa city, and Turkey allows itself to interfere in Kirkuk , this is very dangerous, because the Arabs will have the right to intervene in Khusetan. We say there are also Arabs in Arabistan and we should interfere in Iskenderun since there are Arabs there. We have to respect our countries’ borders and the sovereignty of these countries.”