Saturday, November 25, 2006
Iraq - Syrian talks to take place before talks with Iran
Politics, Security, Region
There will be an Iraqi-Syrian meeting before any talks to include Iran and Iraqi Sunnis want to be a part of the Iraqi-Iranian dialogue. Labeed Abawi, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry Under Secretary said a summit meeting between Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Syrian President Bashar Al Assad will be held soon. He told Gulf News that the bilateral meeting with Syria must be held before any trilateral summit to include Iraq, Syria and Iran.
"In the Iraqi government's opinion, any trilateral summit will not hold any significance before our issues and dossiers are resolved with Syria, in a practical and tangible manner," he added. "Iraqi key officials do not want to hold a trilateral summit presently, because if that happens, the meeting will not solve any problems. We need a vision in Baghdad to solve our problems first, through establishing a work team, similar to our programme with the Syrians, to be followed by a summit," Abawi said.
Official sources in Iraq mentioned that a high ranking security delegation is to visit Damascus soon to lay down active mechanisms to monitor the joint borders and to pursue armed elements trying to cross the border to Iraq illegally. The official sources close to the Iraqi Prime Minister's office said there is a Syrian presidential decree to pressurise all Baathists and former regime officials to take part in the National Reconciliation process, laid down by Nouri Al Maliki, Iraqi Prime Minister, which is facing many bumps and escalating sectarian violence. Hassan Al Sari, the Iraqi Minister of State who is also Chairman of the Hez-bollah Movement in Iraq emphasised that all military relations between Iraqi opposition groups and Iran were severed after the downfall of the Baathist regime in 2003.
Al Sari said Iran was just a friendly neighbouring country and the Iraqi government wants good relations with its neighbours, based on mutual non-interference in internal affairs. Al Sari added that Iran backs the political process in Iraq and this is an important matter for all Iraqis.
Ala'a Maki, a leader in the Iraqi Islamic Party (the largest component in the Sunni Conciliation Front ) said that any talk about an Iranian positive participation in Iraqi issues is simply unrealistic. He also told Gulf News that the Iraqi Sunni groups want Arab Sunnis to take part in talks with Iran, and that Iran refrains from backing armed Shiite militias.
"In the Iraqi government's opinion, any trilateral summit will not hold any significance before our issues and dossiers are resolved with Syria, in a practical and tangible manner," he added. "Iraqi key officials do not want to hold a trilateral summit presently, because if that happens, the meeting will not solve any problems. We need a vision in Baghdad to solve our problems first, through establishing a work team, similar to our programme with the Syrians, to be followed by a summit," Abawi said.
Official sources in Iraq mentioned that a high ranking security delegation is to visit Damascus soon to lay down active mechanisms to monitor the joint borders and to pursue armed elements trying to cross the border to Iraq illegally. The official sources close to the Iraqi Prime Minister's office said there is a Syrian presidential decree to pressurise all Baathists and former regime officials to take part in the National Reconciliation process, laid down by Nouri Al Maliki, Iraqi Prime Minister, which is facing many bumps and escalating sectarian violence. Hassan Al Sari, the Iraqi Minister of State who is also Chairman of the Hez-bollah Movement in Iraq emphasised that all military relations between Iraqi opposition groups and Iran were severed after the downfall of the Baathist regime in 2003.
Al Sari said Iran was just a friendly neighbouring country and the Iraqi government wants good relations with its neighbours, based on mutual non-interference in internal affairs. Al Sari added that Iran backs the political process in Iraq and this is an important matter for all Iraqis.
Ala'a Maki, a leader in the Iraqi Islamic Party (the largest component in the Sunni Conciliation Front ) said that any talk about an Iranian positive participation in Iraqi issues is simply unrealistic. He also told Gulf News that the Iraqi Sunni groups want Arab Sunnis to take part in talks with Iran, and that Iran refrains from backing armed Shiite militias.
COMMENT: Recently historically, Syrian and Iraqi politics (the Baath regime) have been closer than that of Iran. Therefore it is more natural that Iraq turns to Syria first, despite previous disagreements from the Saddam era. Iran is known to be supplying training, money and weapons to Shia militias in Iraq and possibly insurgent groups too, thus contributing to the escalation of violence and chaos in Iraq, and destabilisation of the political process. The timing of the attacks on Sadr City and the Ministry of Health (both Sadr strongholds) were no coincidence. They were a last effort by Sunni insurgents to derail successful talks under the U.S. occupation between Iraq and her neighbours. The objective was achieved. COMMENT ENDS.
