JEDDAH, 4 October 2005 — Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa is set to visit Iraq shortly to prepare for a national reconciliation conference under the auspices of the 23-member pan-Arab organization, Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal announced late Sunday night.
“In the light of the result of this visit an Arab strategy to support Iraq will be set out,” Prince Saud told a press conference at the end of a meeting of the eight-member Arab Committee on Iraq here.
“The most important thing now is achieving a national consensus among Iraqis. Before accomplishing this goal, all other matters will remain as is,” said Prince Saud.
He said the foreign ministers of Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait and Syria, who attended Sunday’s meeting had unanimously agreed to send the Arab League chief to Iraq but diplomats said no date had been set for Moussa’s visit.
Prince Saud emphasized that it was vital to achieve a national Iraqi reconciliation before laying down Arab strategies to support the country.
Moussa also stressed the importance of Iraqi national unity to the success of any future Arab strategy. He said he would meet with the heads of all political groups throughout Iraq as well as government officials in order to discuss future steps.
Also yesterday, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari apologized for an outspoken attack by one of his colleagues, who had compared Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister to a “Bedouin riding a camel”. Zebari said the comments by Iraq’s Interior Minister Abdul Jabar against Prince Saud were “regrettable and inappropriate”.
“We hold the Kingdom and Prince Saud in high esteem and we regret such comments,” Zebari told reporters.
Zebari said it was the Foreign Ministry’s job to talk about Iraq’s relations with other countries. Diplomats said Zebari had also apologized to Prince Saud during a closed meeting of foreign ministers.
Zebari described Sunday’s meeting as “very positive and frank.” Iraq has presented its vision to the committee concerning the need for an effective Arab role in Iraq, he said, adding that his country had presented a number of its own proposals.
Zebari warned that if the present cycle of violence and terrorism continued in Iraq, it would definitely endanger neighboring countries and could lead to more terrorism in Arab and Islamic countries. “We have repeatedly warned against this danger in order to prevent a repetition of Afghanistan,” he said.
Addressing the meeting on Sunday, Prince Saud reiterated Saudi concerns at the possibility of a civil war involving Iraq’s Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish groups, and warned foreign countries against interfering in Iraq’s internal affairs.
“Iraq’s neighbors should understand that history will never forgive those who use the tragedy of Iraq to serve their vested interests,” the prince said.
