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Relations with Maliki on edge as Jordan courts Iraq's Sunnis

Jordan does not expect Iraq's Nouri al-Maliki to survive as prime minister and is courting Iraq's Sunnis to prepare for a possible successor.
Jordan's Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh speaks during his joint news conference with Jordanian Minister of Interior Hussein Al-Majali and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) representative to Jordan Andrew Harper to officially announce the opening of the new Azraq Syrian Refugee camp near Al Azraq, east of Amman, April 30, 2014. Azraq Refugee Camp received the first group of Syrians and its divided into 12 villages with a holding capacity of 5 to 15,000 people per village, in a total land a

Relations between Iraq’s outgoing Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and Jordan have hit rock bottom following the convening of a conference in Amman on July 15 by Iraqi Sunni representatives and other opposition groups.

Baghdad recalled its ambassador in Amman “for consultations” two days later and Maliki criticized Jordan for sponsoring a meeting for “those who support sectarianism and terrorism” and called on the kingdom to “clarify its position on terrorism.” While Maliki insisted that he was looking to strengthen economic, political and security relations with the kingdom, Iraqi deputies belonging to Maliki’s coalition called on him to impose sanctions in retaliation for what they saw as a “hostile act” by an “ungrateful Jordan” against Iraq.

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