Monday 13 April 2009

Abbas Visits Iraq's Kurdish Region


Abbas Visits Iraq's Kurdish Region

13/04/2009 Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas on Monday met Kurdish regional government leader Massud Barzani in a visit aimed at cementing ties between the two largest stateless peoples in the Middle East.

"We did not need any invitation to visit this brotherly nation and we have felt for a long time that the doors were always open to us without even needing to make an appointment," Abbas said at a joint news conference.

"The honorable president Barzani was not even told of our visit until 24 hours beforehand and he said 'Ahlan wa Sahlan,'" Abbas said, using the common Arabic form of greeting.

Barzani for his part praised Abbas for being the first "president" to visit the autonomous region in northern Iraq. "We are used to our Palestinian brothers always being in the forefront of aiding our people in the past and present," he said.

"This visit will cement the relationship between our two peoples with their similar suffering. Just as he is the first president to visit the region we expect and we hope that the Palestinian consulate will be the first consulate to open in Arbil."

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