Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki has told a Damascus press conference that his government was elected by the Iraqi people in accordance with the constitution, and that no one could set a timetable for its operation.
He was responding to August 21 statements by President Bush, who said that the Iraqi people could replace its current government if it did not respond to its demands.
Al-Maliki stated that Bush's statements had gone beyond the bounds of good manners, and that they were evidence that some elements were concerned about his visit to Syria – which, he said, concerned Iraq alone, and no one else.
Source: Al-Quds Al-Arabi, London, August 23, 2007; Al-Thawra, Syria, August 23, 2007
