Election of Iraqi presidential council commended

The election of the Iraqi Presidential Council was welcomed by the international community.

Turkey welcomed the elections of Talibani as President, despite Ankara's fears of the hidden intentions within the Iraqi Kurds.

The Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that he expects the new Iraqi government to ensure that not only the Kurds will have control on the oil-rich Karkouk city in northern Iraq.

The Turkish foreign minister Abdullah Gull called on President Talibani to work for preserving Iraq's territorial integrity and unity.

In Washington, the US President George W. Bush welcomed the new Presidential Council and considered it as representing a new phase in Iraq's moves to democracy.

The UN secretary general Kofi Annan commended the new Iraqi president and expressed his hope to form the new Iraqi government very quickly, stressing the desire of the UN to deal with the new Iraqi officials. "The United Nations stands ready to support the reconstruction of Iraq, including by providing any needed assistance to its constitution-making process," a UN statement added.

The Arab League welcomed the election of Talibani as a President for Iraq and described him as "an Iraqi national figure." The secretary general of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Abdul Rahman al-Ateyah, congratulated the new Iraqi president and his two deputies on their elections, wishing security and stability for the Iraqi people.