French Minister of Foreign Affairs Bernard Kouchner, on a two-day visit to Iraq, discussed with President Jalal Talabani recent achievements and military operations carried out in the country, media sources said Sunday, according to DPA. During the talks which took place Saturday evening, Talabani spoke about the newly launched security operations in Mosul, Basra and Baghdad's Shiite Sadr City. He stressed the mutual cooperation between the Iraqi forces and civilians had helped the operations succeed and return calm to the Iraqi cities, the Voices of Iraq (VOI) news agency reported, citing an official statement issued from the president's office. The Iraqi president told Kouchner that Iraqis now enjoy a stable political, economic and security environment. Kouchner arrived in the southern Iraqi city of Nassiriya on a previously unannounced visit Saturday - his second after a three-day visit to Baghdad last August. He started his trip with a tour of one of the city's monumental sites. The French minister told reporters that the visit was in response to an invitation from Iraqi Vice President Abdul-Mahdy. Kouchner praised the new developments in Iraq and expressed his support to the country. Kouchner stressed that the visit would trigger "a true enhancement in relations between France and the Iraqi people in addition to providing support to all southern Iraqi cities." The French minister's talks with Talabani also covered the issue of Iraqi refugees. Talabani said that Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al- Maliki had prepared a plan to secure the return of the refugees back to Iraq. But no further details were disclosed.
