A statement, released by 30 Iraqi lawmakers and five cabinet ministers belonging to al-Sadr's political bloc, said they would suspend their role in the Iraqi parliament and government in protest at a meeting between the Iraqi Prime Minister and US President George W. Bush.

The statement explained that the decision was necessary since the meeting was a "provocation to the feelings of the Iraqi people and a violation of their constitutional rights."

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki arrived in Amman earlier Wednesday for talks with US President Bush on ways to stem violence in his war-torn country.

Mr. Maliki, accompanied by Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari and other top officials, was met at the airport by Jordan's Deputy Prime Minister Ziad Fariz and Interior Minister Eid Fayez.

Mr. Maliki is expected to meet President Bush on Wednesday evening as soon as the US president to arrive in Jordan, a meeting which King Abdullah II of Jordan will also attend.
 
Days before, al-Sadr's political group threatened to pull out if Mr. Maliki and Mr. Bush met "it will pullout from the government if Bush and Maliki meet," adding that the presence of US troops was the main cause of the rising bloodshed in Iraq.

Al-Sadr's aides also said US troops were responsible for Thursday's horrific Sadr City blasts, which killed over 200 people.

On Tuesday, Bush disclosed at a NATO summit in Latvia that he and Maliki would meet in Jordan to discuss the situation in Iraq, US efforts to transfer responsibility to Iraqi security forces, and "the responsibility of other nations in the region to support the security and stability of Iraq".

(Xinhua News Agency November 30, 2006)