Talabani says Iranian-Iraqi "Algiers Accord" is still valid

Dec 29, 2007, 16:37 GMT

Baghdad - Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said that he was misquoted regarding recent statements on the status of the so-called Algiers Accord that ex-dictator Saddam Hussein had signed with Iran.

Talabani confirmed that the settlement over disputed territories between Iraq and Iran is still valid under international laws and conventions, according to Voices of Iraq (VOI) news agency on Saturday.

'I do not advocate the cancellation of the agreement. I call for enhancing relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Iraq and I believe we have many mutual interests,' the president was quoted as saying.

The agreement was signed in 1975 between Saddam and the ousted Iranian Shah in the presence of former Algerian President Houari Boumedienne.

Talabani said that this agreement was rejected at a time of opposition when 'we stood against the dictatorial regime because it was signed between ... the then Shah of Iran and Saddam Hussein.

'(But) things have changed with the rise of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the liberation of Iraq from dictatorship,' said Talabani in a press conference held earlier at his residence.

Press reports had quoted Talabani as saying that the agreement is invalid. The Iranian government responded by asking for clarification on whether the Iraqi government considers the agreement cancelled.

'The current agreement is valid and no single party has the right to cancel or tear it up. This is a fact known by the president,' read a presidential statement cited by VOI.