MOSCOW, September 8 (RIA Novosti) - Iraqi parliament has approved the appointment of new members of the cabinet of ministers, headed by Prime Minister Haider Abadi, Reuters reported Monday.
Abadi has appointed almost the entire cabinet; only the positions of the Interior Minister and Defense Minister remain vacant. Names of the new heads of these departments will be revealed later this week.
Iraqi parliament has also voted in favor of the appointment of three vice-presidents of the country - ex-prime minister Nouri Maliki, former prime minister Ayad Allawi and former parliament speaker Usama Nujayfi.
On August 11, the Iraqi president formally requested the candidate from the largest Shiite parliamentary association National Alliance, Haider Abadi, to form a government. Nouri Maliki, who was the prime minister at that time and qualified for the next term, said that the president's actions had violated the constitution, and refused to recognize the legitimacy of the appointment. Abadi then filed a claim in the Federal Court, but later gave it up and resigned from his post.
Al-Abadi was entrusted with creating a government of national consensus from the representatives of different political parties, ethnic and religious minorities to restore stability and unity in Iraq and confront the threat posed by the Islamic State militants.
