U.S. envoy says Rice will be at next Iraq meeting

U.S. envoy says Rice will be at next Iraq meetingBAGHDAD, March 10 (Reuters) - The U.S. ambassador to Iraq said on Saturday U.S. Secretary Condoleezza Rice would attend a planned ministerial meeting of regional and world powers on Iraq expected to be held in Istanbul in April."The Turks offered to host the meeting in Istanbul and should such a meeting take place the secretary has already stated she will attend," Zalmay Khalilzad told a news conference.

U.S. ambassador says had direct talks with IraniansBAGHDAD, March 10 (Reuters) - The U.S. ambassador to Iraq said on Saturday he talked directly to Iranian delegates as well as in a group setting during a conference on Iraq in Baghdad.Asked if he had direct talks with Iranians, U.S. ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad told a news conference: "I did talk to them directly and in the presence of others. We engaged across the table as well."Iraq called Saturday's meeting to enlist support to end violence four years after the U.S. invasion, but it was also a rare opportunity for officials from Washington and Tehran to meet at a time of growing tension over Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Iraq-U.S. had "lively exchange" with Iran, SyriaBAGHDAD, March 10 (Reuters) - U.S. and Iranian delegates to an Iraqi peace conference in Baghdad on Saturday discussed their relations in Iraq, but nowhere else, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said."It was a lively exchange, not only with them (the Iranians) but the Syrians also," Zebari said at a news conference reporting on the one-day meeting of regional and world powers aimed at promoting peace in Iraq.Iraq called the meeting to enlist support to end violence four years after the U.S. invasion but it was also a rare opportunity for officials from Washington and Tehran to meet at a time of growing tension over Iran's nuclear ambitions."(There were) exchanges regarding relations between the two in Iraq, not anwhere else. That's why they were very constructive," Zebari said of the U.S.-Iranian interaction at the multilateral talks.

Iraq says U.S., Iranians did talk at meetingBAGHDAD, March 10 (Reuters) - U.S. and Iranian delegates to an Iraqi peace conference in Baghdad on Saturday did engage in discussions, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said.
Iraq called the meeting to enlist support to end violence four years after the U.S. invasion but it was also a rare opportunity for officials from Washington and Tehran to meet at a time of growing tension over Iran's nuclear ambitions."The issues discussed in the meeting were totally focused on Iraq's security and stability,"
Zebari said. "There was no other political agenda brought to the meeting."Asked about the interaction between Iranian and U.S. participants, Zebari did not say whether they had met bilaterally but said: "There was meeting, discussions and consultation at times".IRAQ SAYS BAGHDAD MEETING TOTALLY FOCUSED ON IRAQI SECURITY AND STABILITY, NO OTHER AGENDA

Maliki urges others to stay out of Iraq conflictBy Mariam Karouny

BAGHDAD, March 10 (Reuters) - Iraq's prime minister urged regional rivals on Saturday to stop using Iraq as a battlefield to fight out their proxy wars, addressing a meeting at which U.S. officials sat down with adversaries from Iran and Syria.The conference in Baghdad aims to stop sectarian warfare in Iraq and prevent the conflict's spread throughout the region.In his opening speech, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said all those with a stake in the peace of the Middle East should stand firm against terrorism in Iraq."We call on all to take moral responsibility by adopting a strong and clear stance against terrorism in Iraq and cooperate in stamping out forces of terror," Maliki said, according to the text of his speech to the opening session."This is an international epidemic, the price of which is being paid by the Iraqi people and our country is on the frontline of confrontation," he said.Maliki said Iraq needed the support of its neighbours and the world in stemming the Shi'ite-Sunni sectarian violence, which he said could spill over to other countries in the region."Confronting terrorism means halting any form of financial support and media or religious backing, as well as logistical support and the flow of arms and men who transform themselves into bombs that kill our children, women and elders, and destroy our mosques and churches."Iraq called the meeting to rally regional support to stop sectarian violence that threatens to tear the country apart, has killed tens of thousands and driven some 2 million abroad since a U.S.-led invasion four years ago toppled Saddam Hussein.Washington has accused Iran and Syria of fomenting violence in Iraq, charges both countries deny. Security officials in the region say Sunni extremists from neighbouring Saudi Arabia and Syria are also entering Iraq.Iran is a key ally of the Shi'ite majority in Iraq, while Saudi Arabia and other Sunni Arab states have been traditional allies of the Sunni minority.U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad urged Iraq's neighbours to do more to stop the flow of fighters, weapons and sectarian propaganda contributing to the violence, saying the future of Iraq and the Middle East was the defining issue of the moment."No country represented at the table would benefit from a disintegrated Iraq; indeed, all would suffer badly," he said. He hoped their presence indicated they were "ready to take concrete, constructive actions" to support Iraq.

'STOP INTERFERING'

Shortly after the meeting started, two mortar rounds, crashed near the conference venue around lunchtime, and a car bomb in the Shi'ite militia stronghold of Sadr City miles away from the Foreign Ministry killed six and wounded 20, police said.Besides finding ways to stop the bloodshed in Iraq, the one-day meeting was a rare opportunity for old foes the United States, Iran and Syria to sit at the same table.Iranian delegates demanded the release of several Iranian captured by U.S. forces in Iraq in recent months, while U.S. diplomats urged all countries present to work harder to support the political process in Iraq, a source at the talks said.Maliki demanded that "regional or international states refrain from interfering or influencing Iraq's state of affairs through supporting a certain sect, ethnic group or party."
The conference brings together mid-level officials from Iraq's neighbours, the permanent U.N. Security Council members -- the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France -- and Arab countries. After Maliki's speech the delegates met behind closed doors for sessions expected to last most of the day.Iraq plans to invite foreign ministers from regional countries and the G8 group of industrialised nations to a meeting in April, a government spokesman said later.The Iranian delegation arrived in the conference hall and took their seats without making any direct contact with U.S. delegates shortly before the meeting officially opened.
A source said he knew of no bilateral talks between Tehran and Washington -- at loggerheads over Iran's nuclear programme.President George W. Bush said the U.S. message to Damascus and Tehran would be clear at Saturday's conference -- to help Iraq's "young democracy."Washington, which has no diplomatic relations with Iran, has had contacts with Iranian officials in group settings, including as recently as September, but has resisted bilateral talks. The United States has diplomatic relations with Syria but withdrew its ambassador to Damascus in early 2005 and has not had high-level contacts for the past two years.