Iraqi Leaders, Bar Sadr, Agree to Work on Political Roadmap

A handout picture released by Iraq's Prime Minister's Media Office shows PM Mustafa al-Kadhimi speaks during the national dialogue meeting held under the auspices of President Barham Salih, including parliament speaker Mohamed al-Halbousi and other political leaders in the capital Baghdad on August 17, 2022. (Iraqi Prime Minister’s Press Office / AFP)
A handout picture released by Iraq's Prime Minister's Media Office shows PM Mustafa al-Kadhimi speaks during the national dialogue meeting held under the auspices of President Barham Salih, including parliament speaker Mohamed al-Halbousi and other political leaders in the capital Baghdad on August 17, 2022. (Iraqi Prime Minister’s Press Office / AFP)
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Iraqi Leaders, Bar Sadr, Agree to Work on Political Roadmap

A handout picture released by Iraq's Prime Minister's Media Office shows PM Mustafa al-Kadhimi speaks during the national dialogue meeting held under the auspices of President Barham Salih, including parliament speaker Mohamed al-Halbousi and other political leaders in the capital Baghdad on August 17, 2022. (Iraqi Prime Minister’s Press Office / AFP)
A handout picture released by Iraq's Prime Minister's Media Office shows PM Mustafa al-Kadhimi speaks during the national dialogue meeting held under the auspices of President Barham Salih, including parliament speaker Mohamed al-Halbousi and other political leaders in the capital Baghdad on August 17, 2022. (Iraqi Prime Minister’s Press Office / AFP)

Iraq's main political leaders -- but not firebrand Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr -- agreed Wednesday to work on a roadmap aimed at ending the country's political impasse, after talks called by the premier.

They also pledged to keep talking, and urged Sadr to join what Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi called the "national dialogue".

Ten months after a general election last October, war-scarred Iraq still has no government, new prime minister or new president, because of disagreement over forming a coalition.

Tensions have been rising since July between the two main Shiite factions, one led by Sadr, the other by the pro-Iran Coordination Framework. Attempts to mediate have so far proved fruitless.

Sadr wants parliament dissolved to pave the way for new elections, but the Coordination Framework wants to set conditions and demands a transitional government before new polls.

After Wednesday's talks, a statement from Kadhimi's office said the meeting resulted in "several points agreed upon".

These included a commitment to finding a solution through a continuing dialogue "to present a legal and constitutional roadmap to address the current crisis".

Early elections were not ruled out, with the statement saying that "resorting to the ballot box once again through early elections is not an unprecedented event in the history of democracies", but without explicitly calling for them.

The Coordination Framework was represented at Wednesday's talks by two former premiers, Haidar al-Abadi and Nouri al-Maliki.

Also present were Hadi al-Ameri and Faleh al-Fayyad, senior officials in the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) of former paramilitaries, now part of the national forces.

Maliki is a longtime foe of Sadr, the influential populist cleric whose bloc emerged from last October's elections as parliament's biggest, but still far short of a majority.

Sadr supporters have been staging a sit-in outside parliament in Baghdad's high security Green Zone for more than two weeks, and the Coordination Framework began a rival Baghdad protest on Friday.

President Barham Salih and parliamentary Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi also attended the talks, as did officials of the two main Kurdish parties and the UN envoy in Iraq, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert.

As the meeting got under way, a terse press release from the Sadr faction said simply that it was not taking part "in the national dialogue".

Announcing the talks on Tuesday, Kadhimi's office had said they aimed "to start a profound national dialogue and deliberation; to find solutions to the current political crisis".

Earlier Tuesday, Sadr had backtracked after previously urging his supporters to join a massive rally as the standoff appeared to be getting worse.

He said a "million-man demonstration" planned for Baghdad on Saturday was being postponed indefinitely.



Sharaa Tours More Syrian Cities ahead of National Conference

This handout picture released by the Syrian Presidency on February 16, 2025 shows Syria's interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa attending a meeting with officials and local leaders in the western coastal city of Tartus. (Syrian Presidency / AFP)
This handout picture released by the Syrian Presidency on February 16, 2025 shows Syria's interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa attending a meeting with officials and local leaders in the western coastal city of Tartus. (Syrian Presidency / AFP)
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Sharaa Tours More Syrian Cities ahead of National Conference

This handout picture released by the Syrian Presidency on February 16, 2025 shows Syria's interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa attending a meeting with officials and local leaders in the western coastal city of Tartus. (Syrian Presidency / AFP)
This handout picture released by the Syrian Presidency on February 16, 2025 shows Syria's interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa attending a meeting with officials and local leaders in the western coastal city of Tartus. (Syrian Presidency / AFP)

Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa visited the coastal cities of Latakia and Tartus on Sunday as part of a tour of the country that he kicked off on Saturday in the Idlib and Aleppo provinces.

The tour is taking place weeks ahead of a national conference scheduled in Homs in central Syria.

Sharaa was warmly welcomed by crowds that gathered in Latakia city center near the Jules Jammal school, which holds historic and national significance.

The school was established in the early 1920s and it helped shape national awareness in the country. It was the launch point for student protests and an arena for electoral tensions between the Baath party, Muslim Brotherhood and Syrian nationalists.

It was shut during the rule of ousted President Bashar al-Assad, leaving it in neglect despite its significance to the people.

Sharaa deliberately chose to greet the people near the school to underscore Latakia’s national role that was usurped by the Assad regime.

In Aleppo on Saturday, Sharaa attended an open dialogue discussion with several social and economic figures from the city and its countryside.

He listened to their proposals and demands, with sources saying that the talks focused on the state of affairs in Syria and efforts to revive it after the war and regime ouster.

This handout picture released by the Syrian Presidency on February 16, 2025 shows Syria's interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa attending a meeting with officials and local leaders in the western coastal city of Latakia. (Syrian Presidency / AFP)

Sharaa stressed Aleppo’s economic significance and role in the industry sector.

He underlined his confidence that Syria will rise again thanks to its people, telling the crowd that the interim government is focusing on setting plans for 2025 and 2026.

The sources said Sharaa sought to assure the people, emphasizing that “everyone was under the law” and that Syria is not a sectarian state.

He urged them to trust him in tackling the issues at hand, reiterating that he was walking the “very fine line between transitional justice and civil peace.”

Sharaa also visited Afrin city in Aleppo which is predominantly Kurdish.

He assured that Syrian Kurds were part of the Syrian population.

He visited refugee camps in the northwest, stressing that returning the displaced home was a government priority.

Sharaa’s tour is taking place amid preparations for the national conference in Homs. Consultations have already gotten underway for the meeting.