Barham Saleh: Iraq is divided ethnically and religiously

The prime minister of al-Suleimaneyah district in Iraq's kurdistan, Barham Saleh, on Monday held a second round of talks with the Syrian Vice President Abdul Halim Khaddam in Damascus and also other several Syrian officials. Meetings which were not officially declared.

Saleh stressed in statements following the meeting with Khaddam the importance of the relations between the Kurdistani national federation party and the Syrian leadership. He called on the Iraqi opposition groups to maintain cooperation with Syria, noting the Kurds commitment to the unity of Iraq.

Saleh who arrived in Damascus on Friday said that his discussions with the Syrian officials centered on "the future of Iraq and the developments of the current situation." He added "there is a firm relations between us and Syria and we are seeking greater coordination." He continued that "Syria understands our proposals and we have stressed our commitment to the Iraqi national unity and that Iraq is divided today according to an Arab and Kurdish national base and on Shiite and Sunni religious base and this is so because of dictatorship policies. And we do recall for restoring back the Iraqi national unity."

Saleh has also called upon the Syrian company to be involved in building construction and rehabilitation projects of the economy of Kurdistan and to make use of the "oil for food" program. He considered that there will be "good opportunities for cooperation between Syria and Kurdistan."