Tuesday 17 February 2009

German FM on surprise visit to Iraq

BAGHDAD: German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier flew in on a surprise trip to Iraq on Tuesday, in the first such visit for more than 20 years ago, Iraqi officials said.

Steinmeier is due to meet President Jalal Talabani and Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki during his trip, which comes exactly a week after a surprise mission by French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Like France, Germany was an opponent of the US-led invasion of 2003, which toppled Saddam Hussein’s regime. Steinmeier was chief of staff to then-chancellor Gerhard Schroeder when the war broke out. Steinmeier was also expected to open a German consulate in Arbil, capital of Iraqi Kurdistan in the north of the country, according to the Kurdish press.

source : jang.com.pk

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