Iraq's premier on Saturday called on all rival parties to join negotiations and show the "flexiblity and realism" to make concessions toward ending the country's political deadlock. "All of us, from all affiliations, have to sit together and talk and talk — even if it takes longer — until we reach a meeting point," Nouri al-Maliki stated. "We cannot reach that point without respect and showing readiness to be deal with the issues with flexibility and realism," he told Sunni tribal leaders
On Friday, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden urged the head of the Kurds' regional government, Massoud Barzani, to highlight the need for an inclusive Iraqi government. A White House statement said Biden reminded Barzani that the new government should reflect "the results of the election." "The two agreed that all winning coalitions should be included in the new government," the statement said.
During the meeting, the Iraqi leader also hailed the Sahwa, or Awakening Council, militias that joined U.S. troops in 2007 to battle al-Qaeda. Al-Maliki called these militias "one of the best products of (Iraq's) national reconciliation and its blessings."
