UPDATED ON:
Sunday, May 20, 2007
04:10 Mecca time, 01:10 GMT
 
News Middle East
Talabani due in US for checkup
Talabani will be the second top Iraqi politician to fly to the US for medical reasons in four days [AP]

Jalal Talabani, the Iraqi president, is scheduled to travel to the United States this weekend for a medical checkup, a senior Kurdish politician close to the Iraqi leader said.

 

The

Talabani, a Sunni Kurd, will fly on Sunday from the Kurdish city of Sulaimaniyah, 260km northeast of Baghdad.

 

The 73-year-old was admitted to the King Hussein Medical Cen

He was unconscious as he was rushed to a local hospital, but recovered to be flown to Jordan. Doctors said he suffered from exhaustion and dehydration caused by lung and sinus infections.

 

He returned home 17 days later, flying directly to Sulaimaniyah where thousands of Kurds greeted him.

 

Meeting with Blair

 

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Talabani met Tony Blair, the visiting British prime minister, in Baghdad on Saturday and the two conducted a news conference along with Nouri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister.

 

The Iraqi president, pale and slightly unkempt, was angry when answering a reporter's question on the chances of a coup toppling al-Maliki's government.

 

"A coup is an illusion that will never materialise," he said.

 

"If it becomes necessary, hundreds of thousands of popular and military forces will be prepared to stand by the government against any coup attempt."

 

Talabani will be the second top Iraqi politician to fly to the US for medical reasons in four days.

 

Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, a senior Shia politician, flew there aboard a US military aircraft on Wednesday for further tests to determine if he is suffering from lung cancer, according to members of his staff.

 

Al-Hakim is the leader of the Supreme Islamic Council in Iraq, the country's largest Shia party and a partner in al-Maliki's coalition government.

 Source: Agencies
 
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