Maliki, ex-PM, parliamentarians meet Gul

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Tuesday afternoon met with the visiting Turkish President Abdullah Gul in the presence of senior officials, including former Premier Ibrahim al-Jaafari, head of the National Dialogue Front Saleh al-Motlak and several parliamentarians. “A lunch banquet was held in honor of the Turkish president,” an informed source told IraqiNews.com news agency, adding that no official agreements have been signed during the banquet. Maliki’s deputies, Burham Saleh and Rafie al-Issawi, and First Deputy Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament Khaled Atiya, attended the banquet. On Monday (March 23), Gul arrived on an official visit to the capital Baghdad, the first by a Turkish head of state to neighboring Iraq in 33 years. The last was by Fahri Koruturk in 1976. SS (P)/SR 1