Source:
AFPBAGHDAD, Iraq (AFP) - Hardline Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr on Thursday refused to hold talks with Iraqi lawmakers who had gone to Iran in a bid to end the clashes between his fighters and troops, an aide told AFP.
"Moqtada al-Sadr did not permit his leaders to meet the Iraqi delegation," said Sheikh Salah al-Obeidi, the cleric's spokesman in the central holy city of Najaf.
"Sadr insists that the crisis can be solved only through a parliamentary initiative backed by president Jalal Talabani and speaker Mahmud Mashhadani."
Obeidi did not elaborate, but Talabani has been holding talks with Sadrists to resolve the crisis.
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