Iraqi PM hits back at US criticism

DAMASCUS, Aug 22 (Reuters) Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki hit back at US criticism of his government today, saying nobody had the right to set timetables for progress.

The US ambassador to Baghdad said yesterday Iraq had made ''extremely disappointing'' progress towards reconciling its warring sects, while President George W Bush said there was ''a certain level of frustration with the leadership in general''.

Responding to a question about US criticism, Maliki said: ''The Iraqi government was elected by the Iraqi people and nobody (has the right to) put timetables ... on it,'' referring to conditions set by Washington for his government to achieve political reconciliation among Iraqi groups.

He was speaking at a news conference in Damascus, where he held talks yesterday with President Bashar al-Assad.

''Maybe this person who made a statement yesterday is upset by the nature of our visit to Syria,'' Maliki said. He did not make clear if he was referring to US ambassador Ryan Crocker or Bush.

''These statements do not concern us a lot. What concerns us is our democratic experiment and adhering to the constitution.

We will find many around the world who will support us in our endeavour.'' Carl Levin, chairman of the US Senate Armed Services Committee, on Monday urged that Maliki's government be voted out of power because it has been unable to reach compromises on policy issues.

''The statements by some American officials and legislators are irresponsible,'' Maliki said.

REUTERS AK HS1726