IRAQ: The US and the UK have fought off attempts by France, backed by some Arab countries, to use a special conference on Iraq today to draw up a timetable for the withdrawal of coalition troops.
Twenty-seven foreign ministers gathered last night for the conference at Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to discuss ways of preventing the disintegration of Iraq and supporting the interim government of prime minister Mr Iyad Allawi.
The conference members include Iraq's neighbours - Iran, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Jordan, Kuwait and Turkey - as well as the US, Britain, France, Russia, China, the UN, the EU, the Arab League and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference.
The meeting was originally framed to encourage Iraq's neighbours to do more to bolster the country. But a communique, to be published this evening, is expected to offer little more than support for the election on January 30th.
All those present support elections but are divided over the withdrawal of the coalition forces. Countries such as France, which opposed the US-led invasion, argue that the presence of US and other international forces contributes towards the violence and a timetable should be set for them to leave.
Syria's foreign minister, Mr Farouk al-Sharaa, toured the region trying to secure support for a withdrawal deadline. But the US opposes any such move.
Instead, the draft communique said it would be left to the Iraqi government when to request the US and other members of the coalition to withdraw. In reality, it will be a US decision.
As a sop to France and the Arab countries, the draft includes a sentence reminding the US its mandate is "not open-ended".
Although the conference is being held in Egypt, its president, Mr Hosni Mubarak, is on a trip to Algeria and Spain to avoid being associated with a conference which he expects will not produce much.
Another contentious issue at the conference will be US calls for Iran and Saudi Arabia to tighten up their borders and prevent people crossing to join the fight against the coalition. Last month, Syria responded to US pressure to prevent fighters entering Iraq.
Thair al-Naqeeb, a spokesman for the Iraqi government, told the Associated Press news agency: "We have documents and we have proof that indicate that some neighbouring countries are contributing to increasing the violence in Iraq".
Although the insurgents are predominantly Iraqis, Saudis have defied their government to cross the border to join them. The Saudi government, anxious to play down this involvement, discourages media coverage of the deaths in Iraq of Saudi fighters.