Region | Iraq
Cheney and Maliki meet in Iraq
US Vice President Dick Cheney met with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki during an unannounced visit to Baghdad on Monday.
- Agencies
- Published: 09:51 March 17, 2008
- Image Credit: AP
- US Vice President Dick Cheney arrives at Baghdad International Airport before going to the heavily secured Green Zone.
Baghdad: US Vice President Dick Cheney met with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki during an unannounced visit to Baghdad on Monday, just days before the fifth anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq.
Cheney landed at Baghdad International Airport, then flew by helicopter into the heavily secured Green Zone for talks with Iraqi leaders and US military and diplomatic officials.
Al Maliki said he and the vice president discussed ongoing negotiations over a long-term security agreement between the two countries that would replace the UN mandate for foreign troops set to expire at the end of the year.
He added, "This visit is very important. It is about the nature of the relations between the two countries, the future of those relations and the agreement in this respect."
He added, "We also discussed the security in Iraq, the development of the economy and reconstruction and terrorism."
Presumptive Republican presidential nominee, US Senator John McCain, is also in Iraq and met with Al Maliki shortly before Cheney.
It was Cheney's third vice presidential trip to Iraq where 160,000 American troops are deployed and the US death toll is nearing 4,000.
He is also holding closed-door talks with leaders in Oman, Saudi Arabia, Israel, the Palestinian territory and Turkey.
Cheney's discussions at each stop also will touch on Iran's nuclear programme and its desire for greater influence in the region, high oil prices and the pursuit of an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal that President George W. Bush wants to see before he leaves office.
Cheney, who last visited Baghdad in May, was scheduled to visit Oman first during his 10-day trip to the Mideast.
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