Friday, May 04, 2007
Rice meets with Syrian Foreign Minister over Iraq
Conference, International
(Reuters) - Iraq held talks with its neighbors and ministers from rich and powerful nations on Friday to find ways to stem bloodshed in Iraq, and diplomats said Baghdad was pushing for U.S.-Iranian talks. The one-day conference in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh brought together Iraq's six neighbors, the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, the European Union and the Group of Eight industrialized countries.
They are due to focus on border security, Iraqi refugees and political reconciliation between Iraqi factions and ethnic and religious communities. Baghdad is dependent on U.S. military support in its drive to halt a slide into all-out civil war by stamping out sectarian violence and defeating insurgents who draw support from the Sunni Arab minority once-dominant under Saddam Hussein. But the diplomats, who declined to be named, said Iran was holding out against substantial contacts with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Rice and Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki exchanged pleasantries over lunch on Thursday, but a U.S. official said a bilateral meeting was not planned for Friday. "We'll see if any other kind of interaction occurs," the official added.
Rice's encounter with Mottaki and talks with Syria's foreign minister on Thursday marked a shift in U.S. President George W. Bush's once resolute opposition to high-level contacts with Iran and Syria. Baghdad's interest in seeing a Rice-Mottaki meeting is clear as it is widely acknowledged that Shi'ite Muslim Iran is an influential force on Iraq, both as a neighbor and because of its links with elements in the Shi'ite-led Iraqi government. The U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, did not rule out a meeting between Rice and Mottaki.
In Sharm el-Sheikh on Thursday Rice had a 30-minute meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem -- Washington's highest-level contact with Syria in more than two years. She described the talks as "professional and business-like" and said she had urged Syria to stop foreign fighters entering Iraq. Moualem said the talks were "frank and constructive". "I didn't lecture him, he didn't lecture me," said Rice.
They are due to focus on border security, Iraqi refugees and political reconciliation between Iraqi factions and ethnic and religious communities. Baghdad is dependent on U.S. military support in its drive to halt a slide into all-out civil war by stamping out sectarian violence and defeating insurgents who draw support from the Sunni Arab minority once-dominant under Saddam Hussein. But the diplomats, who declined to be named, said Iran was holding out against substantial contacts with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Rice and Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki exchanged pleasantries over lunch on Thursday, but a U.S. official said a bilateral meeting was not planned for Friday. "We'll see if any other kind of interaction occurs," the official added.
Rice's encounter with Mottaki and talks with Syria's foreign minister on Thursday marked a shift in U.S. President George W. Bush's once resolute opposition to high-level contacts with Iran and Syria. Baghdad's interest in seeing a Rice-Mottaki meeting is clear as it is widely acknowledged that Shi'ite Muslim Iran is an influential force on Iraq, both as a neighbor and because of its links with elements in the Shi'ite-led Iraqi government. The U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, did not rule out a meeting between Rice and Mottaki.
In Sharm el-Sheikh on Thursday Rice had a 30-minute meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem -- Washington's highest-level contact with Syria in more than two years. She described the talks as "professional and business-like" and said she had urged Syria to stop foreign fighters entering Iraq. Moualem said the talks were "frank and constructive". "I didn't lecture him, he didn't lecture me," said Rice.
Labels: Condoleezza Rice, Iran, Iraq, Manouchehr Mottaki, Sharm el-Sheikh, Syria
