ANKARA - Barham Saleh, the chairman of the ''regional government'' in Northern Iraq and the member of the Patriotic Union of Iraqi Kurdistan (PUK), said on Thursday that they considered Turkey, which was a secular and democratic country, the best model regarding the future of Iraq.
Speaking to reporters after his meeting with Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Ugur Ziyal, Saleh said that he had a beneficial meeting with Ziyal and noted that they exchanged views on concerns of the two sides related to developments in Northern Iraq.
Saleh said that he and Ziyal shared the same view that democracy and peace in Iraq would also be beneficial for the region.
Upon a question, Saleh said that Iraqi opposition groups planned to convene in Iraq on February 15 and stressed that he believed that this meeting would put forth a clear vision regarding the future of Iraq and it would support transition from dictatorship to democratic process in Iraq.
When asked whether or not Turkey's concerns were brought onto the agenda at the meeting, Saleh said that they wanted a democratic and federal Iraq and noted that he thought that transition to democracy was beneficial both for Turkey and the neighboring countries of Iraq. He added that they needed a democratic and stable Middle East.