Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is scheduled to make his first visit to the United States since US President Barack Obama came to office, Iraqi officials said Monday, according to dpa. During al-Maliki's visit to begin Tuesday, the prime minister will seek to lift Iraq's UN designation as a threat to international peace and security, Iraqi Kurdish lawmaker Mahmud Othman told the German Press Agency dpa. "Al-Maliki's visit will be an opportunity to review and activate US-Iraqi relations and to work to get Iraq out from under Chapter VII of the UN Charter," Othman said. The visit to the United States will be al-Maliki's 13th since taking office. The UN Security Council designated Iraq as a threat to international peace and security under Chapter VII of its charter in 1990 following the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq under the regime of the late dictator Saddam Hussein. Iraqi parliamentarians and diplomats have in recent weeks intensified their efforts to get the UN Security Council to lift the designation and return full sovereignty to the country. Al-Maliki is set to meet with Obama at the White House on Wednesday. "The two sides will conduct a comprehensive assessment of the situation in Iraq after the withdrawal of US troops from the country, in all its aspects," Othman said. The lawmaker predicted that al-Maliki would seek to shift the emphasis in US-Iraqi relations to "bringing US investment in the reconstruction of the country" during his visit. "Al-Maliki will also ask the US administration to prevent regional states from intervening in Iraq's regional affairs, such as in elections, the national reconciliation process, or the relationship between the central government and Kurdistan," Othman said. Othman did not specify which regional powers he believed were intervening in Iraq's internal affairs. Al-Maliki is also to visit the US military cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, to thank US troops for their sacrifices in Iraq, the Los Angeles Times reported.
