Iraqi PM Fears for Nation's Sovereignty

Nouri al-Maliki, Prime Minister of Iraq, speaks during a press conference after attending high-level meetings on Iraq at U.N. headquarters Saturday, Sept. 22, 2007. (AP Photo/David Karp) (David Karp - AP)

"The government of Iraq is an elected one and sovereign. When it gives a visa, it is responsible for the visa," he said. "We consider the arrest ... of this individual who holds an Iraqi visa and a (valid) passport to be unacceptable."

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, demanded the Iranian's release on Saturday, saying he was a member of an official delegation that was in the autonomous Kurdish city of Sulaimaniyah with the full knowledge of the Iraqi government and local authorities.

During the interview, al-Maliki made no direct reference to the recent debates in Washington that have included attempts by Democrats in Congress _ regularly thwarted by the Republican minority _ to begin to bring home the 170,000 U.S. troops in Iraq earlier than the Bush administration proposes.

Any sniping from politicians does not bother him, he said, as long as he has the support of President Bush and the administration. He also seemed confident of that backing in the aftermath of weeks of intense debate over Iraq policy in the United States.

Al-Maliki, who will meet with Bush on the sidelines of the General Assembly, sought to accentuate the positive.

"The successes realized and the positive climate we have created between the Iraqi government and the multinational forces gives us a solid ... base from which we will be able to take greater steps," he promised.

Al-Maliki also expressed optimism that he will get his Cabinet back up to strength after the walkout in early August by the mainly Sunni Iraqi Accordance Front. He has challenged those Sunni politicians to come back to his government, and said in the interview that if they continue to boycott, he may enlist other Sunnis in their place: specifically the sheiks who have joined U.S. forces in fighting al-Qaida in Iraq militants in Anbar province.

"We are waiting for clarity from the ministers in the Accordance Front," he said of his attempts to reconstitute his Cabinet. "If they do not return, we will go to the participation of the sons of the (Sunni) tribes."

"We cannot remain with ministerial seats that are empty, and we are in need of the efforts of the ministries and the ministers to provide services (to the Iraqis). We want to announce that 2008 is the year of services for the Iraqi people."

He called on some Arab countries to give the Iraqi government more support and to stop interference in Iraq's internal affairs by closing their borders to the movement of arms or anti-government insurgents.

"The issue of relations with Arab countries has gone through periods of uncertainty," he conceded. "But with the passage of time, the Iraqi government has proven that it is present, supported, strong and represents the will of the Iraqi people.

"What we need from the other Arab countries is a lack of interference in (our) internal affairs."

Maliki is staying under immense security in a luxury hotel not far from the Statue of Liberty and the site of the Sept. 11 World Trade Center attacks, which provided the catalyst for the U.S. decision to invade Iraq.

He brought a large entourage with him; dozens of Iraqi visitors including some senior Iraqi officials could be seen milling on the floor of his hotel and in the lobby.

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Associated Press writer Qassim Abdul-Zahra in New York contributed to this report.