Talabani voices comfort over outcome of Gul’s visit

raq-Turkey BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Iraqi President Jalal Talabani Tuesday expressed comfort over the positive outcome realized during the visit of Turkish President Abdullah Gul to Iraq, and his fruitful meetings with different Iraqi political blocs, according to a presidential statement. “President Talabani saw Gul off on Tuesday afternoon (Mar. 24) at his residence in Baghdad,” said the statement received by IraqiNews.com news agency, noting that the Turkish guest will leave Iraq after his meeting with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki this afternoon. An informed source had said earlier that 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,” the source said, 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. “Talabani expressed his happiness over the positive outcome of Gul’s visit, stressing that the visit would have a significant role in deepening bilateral ties and expanding it in various domains,” the statement said. “The Turkish president thanked Talabani for his hospitality and the friendly reception, reiterating his assertion on the importance to foster relations for the good of the two people,” the statement concluded. 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. SH (S)/SR 1