Meet to focus on Iraq security

Iraq's neighbors including Iran and Syria have agreed to join US and British representatives to discuss the Iraqi security crisis at a regional conference on March 10 in Baghdad, the government said.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said on Wednesday he will be issuing formal invitations shortly to the neighboring countries and the five permanent UN Security Council members the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China to send deputy foreign ministers or senior officials to the meeting.

But the White House said the United States would not hold direct talks with Iran or Syria at the Baghdad conference despite the Bush administration's complaints that those countries are allowing weapons into Iraq, CNN reported.

Spokesman Tony Snow said on Wednesday that direct talks would happen only if those countries made changes to their own policies.

Iran would have to halt its uranium enrichment work and Syria would have to stop supporting groups Washington considers terrorist organizations, Snow said.

Zebari said Iran has agreed to participate in the meeting with the other neighbors but "they have some questions" about a meeting that would be held the same day with the five permanent council members.

Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi, who is on a two-day visit to China, said: "If it (the conference) is good to Iraq's prosperity, unity and peace, we will definitely go there."

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is sending the UN envoy in Iraq, Ashraf Qazi, to attend the conference as an observer, spokeswoman Michele Montas said.

"The secretary-general hopes that the participants in the preparatory meeting will focus on urgently needed steps to reduce violence in Iraq and help stabilize the situation in the region," Montas said.

Iraqi Deputy Foreign Minister Labid Abawi said the US, Britain, China, Saudi Arabia and Iran said they would attend.

Source: China Daily