Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said he "no place for the MKO in Iraq."
According to a statement issued by Maliki’s office: "The Prime Minister today received the new President of the International Red Cross mission in Iraq McKenna Bart."
The statement quoted Maliki as saying:
"Our demand is fair, we do not force them to return to Iran and do not allow them to stay permanently in Camp Ashraf. There is no place for them in Iraq after the crimes they have committed against the Iraqi people by exercising their terrorism and because of their cooperation with the Baathists and their interference in Iraq’s domestic affairs."
On the issue of missing Kuwaitis, Maliki said: "The issue of missing Kuwaitis is humanitarian and not political, and we are fully prepared to cooperate with our brothers in Kuwait."
He continued: "We confirmed our commitment to cooperate on missing Kuwaiti property and money in letters previously to the United Nations and the Government of Kuwait, and seek to end this humanitarian issue, and seek to protect the integrity of the remains of any missing Kuwaitis."
He added: "Iraq has overcome many difficulties during the past two years, and [we see] the development and improvement on what the security situation was before."
For his part, according to the statement, the head of the Red Cross praised the developments witnessed by Iraq and Iraq’s commitment to resolving the issue of missing Kuwaitis, referring to the adoption of the International Committee of Red Cross’ joint efforts with the Iraqi government and its cooperation in this respect.
