Talabani orders first session of Iraq parliament on March 19

Iraq President Jalal Talabani issued a decree today that orders Iraq’s new parliament to hold its first session on March 19, the president’s chief of staff said.

“The president of the republic has called for parliament to hold its first session on March 19,” spokesman al-Karadaghi said.

There still was no resolution of the bitter dispute over a new term for Shiite Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, prompting Massoud Barzani, the president of the Kurdish region of Iraq, to issue a statement saying the country was in political “crisis.”

He invited the leaders of all the major blocs in parliament to meet with him in Irbil as soon as possible to seek a resolution.