The President of Kurdish Region,Masoud Barzani,in Arab League’s First Congress said yesterday he Worries a return to a culture of violence, the latest in a series of remarks critical of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in recent weeks.

However Kurdish President Masoud Barzani also said he did not fear the federal government taking delivery of F-16 warplanes bought from the US, after last month saying he opposed the sale of the aircraft while Maliki was premier.

“We did not feel afraid of the MiG and Mirage aircraft, and we will not feel afraid of the F-16 aircraft,” Pres. Barzani said in a speech in the Kurdish regional capital Erbil, referring to the air force of executed dictator Saddam Hussain, overthrown in a 2003 US-led invasion.

“But we fear that the culture, which believes that the language of the plane, the tank and the cannon is the language of solving problems, will return,” he added.

The Kurdish President has frequently accused Maliki of centralising power and voiced opposition to his military acquisitions, telling reporters on April 23 “The F-16 must not reach the hand of this man,” referring to Maliki.

The US has agreed to sell 36 F-16s to Baghdad in a multi-billion-dollar deal aimed at increasing the capabilities of Iraq’s fledgling air force, a weak point in its national defenses.