MIDDLE EAST:Gathering of 24 foreign ministers of major and Middle-Eastern powers in the Egyptian resort faces a tough task in rallying support behind a UN-backed plan to stabilise Iraq, writes Michael Jansen
Prospects appear poor for today's meeting at the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm al-Shaikh of two dozen foreign ministers of major and regional powers seeking to stabilise Iraq.
They will be asked to commit to a UN supported 42-page document entitled The International Compact with Iraq. Governments are requested to forgive Iraq's debts and provide investment and technical assistance for reconstruction. In exchange, the Shia fundamentalist-led Iraqi government has pledged to promote reconciliation with disaffected Sunnis, secularists and non-fundamentalist Shias, impose the rule of law, create national security forces and fight corruption.
However, Iraq's neighbours, European and Asian governments are not convinced that premier Nuri al-Maliki's government is willing or able to deliver. Although Riyadh said it would forgive 80 per cent of Iraq's $18 billion (€13.23 billion) debt to the kingdom, Saudi King Abdullah refused to meet al-Maliki ahead of the meeting. Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan, president of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Abu Dhabi, followed suit. Kuwait said it would not excuse the $15 billion Iraq owes the emirate.
On Friday ministers from the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, the Group of Eight industrialised countries, Iraq and its neighbours are to discuss strategies for reducing violence and strengthening Iraq's unity.
The situation in the country continues to deteriorate in spite of a US-Iraqi pacification campaign designed to counter insurgent and militia violence. Dozens of tortured corpses appear in Baghdad and elsewhere every day, the toll for US troops was at its second-highest level last month and Iraqi civilian fatalities reached 1,500.
"Iraq is at the centre of either a stable Middle East or an unstable Middle East, and we should therefore all align our policies" to bolster Iraq's government, US secretary of state Condolezza Rice stated. But the Arabs mistrust not only al-Maliki but also the Bush administration.
Participants cannot agree on how to proceed. Egypt is calling for three-month ceasefire be- tween Iraqi forces and insurgents but Iraq rejects this proposal.
Washington wants the Arabs to forgive Iraq's debts but they insist the government implement promises to reach out to Iraqis excluded from power.
Ms Rice said she was ready to meet her Syrian and Iranian counterparts at the gathering but Tehran dismissed such a possibility. While the Bush administration continues to tighten sanctions against Iran because of its refusal to halt uranium enrichment, the head of its national security council, Ali Larijani, demonstrated his country's clout in Iraq by meeting on Tuesday with Shia Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, who shuns US officials. The US is touting as a success Iraqi oil minister Hussein Shahristani's announcement that the controversial oil law providing for revenue sharing has been sent to parliament to win approval by the end May.
But the Kurds, al-Maliki's coalition partners, are threatening to vote against it if they are not granted control of oil resources in their region and allowed to negotiate contracts with foreign firms rather than accept central government control as specified in the law. Other factions suspect proposed profit-sharing arrangements with international firms could lead to foreign domination of Iraq's oil sector.