Baghdad conference begins with Iraq, Syria attending (1st Lead)

Mar 10, 2007, 10:47 GMT

Baghdad - A landmark international conference to discuss the future of Iraq began in Baghdad on Saturday with attendees including representatives of the United States, Syria and Iran.

In his opening remarks to the conference Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki stressed that Iraq, its neighbouring countries and allies were all facing the 'same kind of terrorism.'

'The terrorism that is horrifying the Iraqi people is the same terrorism that is targeting Saudi Arabia,' said al-Maliki, listing countries that have been under attack from terror networks, with Egypt, the US and Britain topping the list.

Ambassadors and foreign ministry officials from Turkey, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Syria, Iran and Egypt as well as representatives from the Arab League and the five permanent UN Security Council members were in attendance at the conference.

The conference is aimed at bolstering support for al-Maliki's cabinet and for the national reconciliation process in which it is engaged. The cabinet has been under fire over ongoing violence in and the the Iraqi capital that continues to claim lives despite the imposition of a new security plan.

Hoshyar Zebary, Iraq's Foreign Minister, confessed that this stage in Iraqi history is a 'hard and difficult time.'

Al-Maliki, during his conference speech, listed the 'achievements' of the Iraqi cabinet, saying that they allocated the 'highest budget' for rebuilding Iraq. However clamping down on 'outlaws and armed militias,' said al-Maliki, is essential for these achievements to show effect.

He added: 'Fard al-Qanoon (the new security plan) is still in its initial stages, but it has yielded positive results so far.'

He insisted that the new plan has reduced the violence and helped Iraqi services, like schools and hospitals, to function safely, adding that '2,000 Iraqi families, who had fled their homes, returned' after the induction of the plan.

'There is also national optimism' regarding the plan, said al-Maliki.

The high-profile conference is also hoped to pave the way for dialogue between the US and the countries in the region, especially Iraq's neighbours who could play a significant role in stabilizing the violence-marred country.

Iraqi officials have been urging countries that share its borders to have a firmer grip on them through monitoring traffic and foiling any attempts of weapon and foreign militancy smuggling into the already-fractured state.

Recently, accusations have been levelled at countries like Syria and Iran for allegedly 'turning a blind eye' to insurgents or weapons seeping into Iraq through their borders.

According to a previous statement by al-Maliki, the conference will also encourage a regional dialogue project and discussion of the Iraqi situation, without 'interference' and 'foreign meddling' from other countries; a process that would eventually lead to what he termed 'regional reconciliation.'

Al-Maliki has stressed that the new Iraq would avoid confrontation that had previously propelled the country into wars, saying that 'past contentions' and 'strife' are expected to be abolished - the conference being the first step towards achieving this.

Meanwhile, the conference is expected to see direct talks between the US and Iran and Syria during its closed-discussions.

David Satterfield, the US State Department's Iraq coordinator, said on Thursday that the US was open to one-on-one talks with Iran and Syria - Washington's main opponents in the region - on stabilizing the fractured country.

'If we are approached over orange juice by the Syrians or the Iranians to discuss an Iraq-related issue that is germane to this topic - a stable, secure, peaceful, democratic Iraq - we are not going to turn and walk away,' Satterfield said.

A follow-up ministerial meeting on Iraq is due to be held in Egypt in April.