Saddam Hussein renews his proposal to maintain a dialogue with Iraqi Kurds

The Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has renewed his proposal to maintain a dialogue with the Kurds in Northern Iraq, the area which is out of the control of Baghdad since the end of the second Gulf war ( the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait) in 1991.

The Iraqi dailies issued on Thursday quoted the Iraqi president as saying as he was receiving the prominent Kurdish figure Fouad Aref that " The Kurdish people are our people and we are dealing with this subject on the ground that the Kurdish people are ours." Worthy mentioning that Fouad Aref is a high ranking officer in the Iraqi army who had several ministerial posts following the revolution of July 14, 1958 which ended the royal regime in Iraq.

Just two weeks earlier, the Iraqi president threatened to resort to force in Kurdistan in case it is found out that it is impossible to make a dialogue between Baghdad and the Kurdish groups.