Iraqi govt. not seeking to amend Algiers Accord: envoy

The Algiers Accord was inked between Iran and Iraq to settle disputes over the Arvand Rud (Shatt-al-Arab) waterway, which forms the boundary between Iran’s Khuzestan Province and Iraq.

“The Iraqi lawmakers are free to make comment about various subjects… and the ideas of some of them about an issue does not mean they are the government’s official stance,” Al-Sheik told the Mehr News Agency.

He underlined that there is no “legal controversy” between Iran and Iraq over the Algiers Accord and the terms of the agreement are not subject to any alteration.

Al-sabah newspaper on Wednesday reported that some Iraqi MPs had demanded the revision of the Algiers Accord.

Al-Sheik said new negotiations between the two countries will only discuss the dredging of Arvand Rud and the technical problems related to the Iran-Iraq border river.

Iraqi parliament’s Defense and Security Committee has also underscored that Tehran-Baghdad talks on Arvand Rud would be merely technical and they should not be reported as political negotiations.

The committee also said that any possible discussions over the Algiers Accord will cause no change to the terms of the agreement.

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani on Jan. 5 reaffirmed Baghdad’s commitment to the accord, calling it an “international treaty”.

NS/BA

END

MNA