Amid Baghdad political stalemate, Iraq's Al-Maliki to visit Turkey

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki will visit Turkey and other neighboring countries this week amid a protracted government crisis that has beset the country since its general elections this March. Since the elections, Turkey has welcomed a number of Iraqi politicians representing the country's rival political factions. This will be the first visit to Turkey since the elections by Al-Maliki, whose Shiite-dominated group came in second after former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's cross-sectarian al-Iraqiyya coalition. "The aim of the visit is to assure that all political groups will be included in the new government," said an adviser to al-Maliki. "The prime minister will give assurances that no political party or list will be marginalized."