Talks aimed at discussing the political and security situation in Iraq were cancelled after political rivals refused to meet on Friday.

 

Iraqi PM al-Maliki

Talks aimed at discussing the political and security situation in Iraq were cancelled after political rivals refused to meet on Friday.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s National Alliance and Iraqiyya bloc, headed by former PM Iyad Allawi, set conditions in order to attend the meeting.
 

VP al-Hashemi

"Yesterday, the National Alliance said Iraqiya should first end its boycott of parliament and the cabinet, and then there will be a meeting of the political blocs," a parliament official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"If the National Alliance does not attend the session, there is no need for it, because the crisis is between them and Iraqiya."

Iraqi authorities had issued last Monday an arrest warrant for President Tareq al-Hashemi on charges he ran a death squad.

Deputy PM Mutlak

Maliki has also called for Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlak to be sacked after Mutlak said the premier led a "dictatorship" and was "worse than Saddam Hussein".

Both al-Hashemi and Mutlak are from Iraqiyya bloc, which is boycotting the cabinet and parliament in protest of these positions.

The meeting was also to discuss the security issue after more than a dozen attacks in Baghdad killed 60 people on Thursday in the deadliest violence Iraq has seen for four months.