US to discuss Iraq with Syria and Iran
US to discuss Iraq with Syria and Iran
By Steve Negus, Iraq Correspondent and Guy Dinmore
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
Published: February 27 2007 21:54 | Last updated: February 28 2007 12:06
Condoleezza Rice, US secretary of state, on Tuesday welcomed an initiative by the Iraqi government to call at least two international conferences giving the US an opportunity to discuss the Iraqi insurgency with Iran and Syria.
The US and Britain will sit down with officials from Syria and Iran and other western and regional powers in Baghdad next month.
“We hope that all governments will seize this opportunity to improve the relations with Iraq and to work for peace and stability in the region,” Ms Rice told a Senate hearing.
US officials did not exclude the possibility of bilateral discussions with Iran on the subject of Iraq. However, it would refuse to discuss the nuclear issue, where the US insists that Iran first suspend its nuclear fuel programme. At previous conferences called by the international community on Iraq, Ms Rice and Colin Powell, her predecessor, avoided direct meetings with their Iranian counterparts in Brussels and Egypt.
The Bush administration accuses Iran’s Revolutionary Guards of supplying weapons and explosives to Iraqi Shia militia. Syria has also been accused of destabilising Iraq by allowing Sunni insurgents to cross its border. Robert Gates, defence secretary, on Tuesday said it was “categorically” untrue that the US was preparing to launch air strikes against Iran.
“In the conduct of diplomacy, you need to have a certain amount of flexibility if you are going to achieve the goals that you want to achieve,” Sean McCormack, State Department spokesman, told reporters.
The first conference is planned to be held in Baghdad at the level of ambassadors in mid-March, bringing together Iraq and its neighbours and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.
A second meeting, to be attended by foreign ministers is scheduled for April outside Iraq.
By Steve Negus, Iraq Correspondent and Guy Dinmore
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
Published: February 27 2007 21:54 | Last updated: February 28 2007 12:06
Condoleezza Rice, US secretary of state, on Tuesday welcomed an initiative by the Iraqi government to call at least two international conferences giving the US an opportunity to discuss the Iraqi insurgency with Iran and Syria.
The US and Britain will sit down with officials from Syria and Iran and other western and regional powers in Baghdad next month.
“We hope that all governments will seize this opportunity to improve the relations with Iraq and to work for peace and stability in the region,” Ms Rice told a Senate hearing.
US officials did not exclude the possibility of bilateral discussions with Iran on the subject of Iraq. However, it would refuse to discuss the nuclear issue, where the US insists that Iran first suspend its nuclear fuel programme. At previous conferences called by the international community on Iraq, Ms Rice and Colin Powell, her predecessor, avoided direct meetings with their Iranian counterparts in Brussels and Egypt.
The Bush administration accuses Iran’s Revolutionary Guards of supplying weapons and explosives to Iraqi Shia militia. Syria has also been accused of destabilising Iraq by allowing Sunni insurgents to cross its border. Robert Gates, defence secretary, on Tuesday said it was “categorically” untrue that the US was preparing to launch air strikes against Iran.
“In the conduct of diplomacy, you need to have a certain amount of flexibility if you are going to achieve the goals that you want to achieve,” Sean McCormack, State Department spokesman, told reporters.
The first conference is planned to be held in Baghdad at the level of ambassadors in mid-March, bringing together Iraq and its neighbours and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.
A second meeting, to be attended by foreign ministers is scheduled for April outside Iraq.
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