Jalal Talabani

"The building of this site would not be possible without the courageous decision by President Bush to liberate Iraq. This building is not only a compound for the embassy but a symbol of the deep friendship between the two peoples of Iraq and America."

"I'm glad to tell you Mr President that our relations with our neighbors is improved very well with Turkey, with Syria, with Iran with the Arab countries. The relation is normal now and we have no problem with any of those countries. In contrary, many many new ambassadors are coming to our country from Arab countries."

"I agree with him that we are going to work together for having this strategic agreement between United States and Iraq, and also to continue our cooperation in our struggle against terrorism and for promotion of democracy in Iraq and in Middle East."

"The brutal regime of the dictator fell … the regime that ruled Iraq for decades, the decades of darkness. The decades that were of tyranny."

"This is a historic visit full of love and brotherhood that sends the message that Iraq and Iran are now having the best relationship."

"It was an agreement between (former Iraqi president) Saddam (Hussein) and the shah of Iran (ousted in 1979) and not between Iraq and Iran."

"We are not denying that Turkey has a right to defend itself from extremists but some of its actions are not serving any democratic purpose in Turkey or in Iraq. This will not benefit the relations between the two countries."

"I am informing you of our displeasure over the arrest of the Iranian civilian official without consulting the government of Kurdistan. That is a humiliation for the regional administration. You ignored our authority. I ask for his immediate release in order to maintain healthy relations between Iran and Kurdistan and for the prosperity of Kurdistan."

"I always tell the Kurds who defend independence: Let's say we declared the independent Kurdish state and Syria, Iran, Iraq and Turkey imposed sanctions on us, without waging a war. How would we survive under those circumstances?"

"I must tell you that I am committed, as the president of Iraq, to benchmarks and to do our best to achieve some progress forward for national reconciliation."

"I am very, very sorry for the lives lost in Iraq. I think it was a very noble job that your army and your people did in Iraq."

"We have developed contacts with five groups of insurgents. We are making these contacts in an attempt to bring them into the political process."

"No for the return of Saddam's Baath party. This is against the constitution and those who are negotiating to bring them back are violating the constitution."

"...under extremely difficult circumstances (Iraq) pursues the inherently complicated task of rebuilding the country. Yet Iraq continues, courageously, to reach for the promise of a democratic, federal and pluralistic state, where generations of oppressed Iraqis will regain their dignity, freedom and the right to join the civilized and progressive nations of the world."

"Human rights and individual liberties, including religious freedom, will be at the heart of the new Iraq."

"Some Shi'ites are asking that Islam be the only source of laws, which means turning Iraq into an Islamic regime, and that is unacceptable. We accept that the religion of Iraq is Islam, and we must respect Islam and the Islamic identity of Iraqi people. But we think Islam should only be one source of the Iraqi laws."

"We are trying to persuade all the Iraqi opposition to come breathe freedom in Iraq and use liberated Kurdistan as a base for our common struggle."

"The Western governments will be encouraged and persuaded to deal with the real representatives and listen to the real voice of the Kurdish people."

"Saddam was the creation of outsiders. He was created, strengthened, and kept by international force. He is like a man on a tree and the tree will be cut: he will fall down. The formation of a new front will inspire the Iraqi people to intensify the struggle, to give heart to people who before were faced with the whole world supporting Saddam."