Erdogan: Maliki stoking sectarian tension

The Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has accused his Iraqi counterpart, Nuri al-Maliki Thursday, of fomenting sectarian and ethnic tensions with his ruling coalition partners in Iraq through his actions. This came about during his meeting with the president of the Iraqi Kurdish region, Massoud Barzani, in Istanbul. Erdogan said in a press conference which was reported by the Hurriyet Turkish newspaper: "The developments in Iraq do not bode well, especially the behaviour of the current prime minister towards his coalition partners". Erdogan added that Maliki’s methods have risen major concerns from Barzani and other Iraqis, including Shiite groups. Massoud Barzani also met on Thursday with Iraqi vice president Tariq al-Hashimi, who is accused by the authorities in Baghdad of running assassination squads. Hashimi, according to Turkish media, relayed his message to the Kurdish leader, that he intends to return to Erbil, despite the demands by Baghdad for him to surrender and face the charges levied against him.