Ahmadinejad announces landmark visit to Iraq

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the President of Iran, will make an unprecedented two-day
trip to Baghdad from March 2 to hold talks with the Iraqi Prime Minister and
other top officials, an Iraqi government spokesman said today.

The visit, intended to foster relations between the former foes, will mark the
first trip to Iraq by a leader of the Islamic Republic since its creation in
1979.

Ali al-Dabbagh, the Iraqi Government spokesman, said that President
Ahmadinejad, accompanied by a group of ministers, would meet Nouri
al-Maliki, the Iraqi Prime Minister, and Jalal Talabani, the Iraqi
President. The Iranian ministers would also hold talks with their
counterparts during the trip, which has been anticipated for some weeks.

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“Iraq is looking to have good relations with Iran,” Dr Dabbagh told The
Times, while adding: “Iran should not interfere with Iraqi internal
affairs and [should] respect that Iraq is a sovereign country.”