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.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
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