Erdogan meets Iraqi Parliament speaker

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with Iraqi Parliament Speaker Usama al-Nujeify in Ankara yesterday. The meeting with the Iraqi official took place at the Prime Ministry and lasted around two hours. During the meeting, which was closed to the press, the recent developments in Iraq were addressed and the importance of acting reasonably to prevent any sectarian clashes was stressed. Tension has arised between Ankara and Bagdad over the past few months due to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s authoritarian style of government and his attempts to marginalise the Sunnis. Yet the relations are stabilized as Maliki has given friendly messages in recent days.