Political detente in Iraq

Bloody attacks in Iraq coincide with the announcement made on Sunday by the Interim Iraqi President Jalal al-Talibani that the first session of the new parliament will be held on Thursday March 16, just three days before the earlier set date.

Talibani announcement came after his meeting with several Iraqi political leaderships with the American ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad.

In a press interview issued on Sunday, the American ambassador said that the Iraqi politicians lack awareness of the danger of this phase the country undergoes. He added "they have to give certain concessions and to honor each other in order to be able to eliminate the crisis." He stressed Iraq's need to a "non sectarian government."

Talibani stressed that the "meetings will be programmed in order to discuss the question of the national unity government, its programs, structure and formation and the mechanism of participation in order to solve problems and submit controversial questions to the leadership to solve them."

The Iraqi president described the atmosphere of the meeting between the political forces as positive, frank and friendly and that all expressed their satisfaction over its results. He indicated that the meeting discussed general questions but did not tackle the subject of the cabinet, adding that it was agreed to continue the meetings of the leaderships and the political blocs.