Iraq PM chides neighbours for lack of support

Maliki, speaking at a meeting in Kuwait of foreign ministers from the region and Western powers, did not name any countries but his remarks appeared aimed at Sunni Arab states that have only low-level ties with his Shi'ite-led government.

He said Iraq was now a vastly different country from the one under Saddam, who ruled Iraq with an iron fist for decades until he was ousted in 2003 by U.S.-led forces. "Iraq today is different from the previous Iraq which assaulted its neighbors. Iraq ... is ready to play a constructive role in security and stability in the region," Maliki said at the start of the meeting.

He urged neighboring states to open embassies in Baghdad. "It's difficult for us to explain why diplomatic ties have not been resumed with Iraq. Many other foreign countries have kept diplomatic missions in Baghdad regardless of security considerations," Maliki said.

No ambassador from a Sunni Arab nation has been stationed permanently in Baghdad since Egypt's envoy was kidnapped and killed shortly after arriving in 2005. Visits by top officials from Arab states, which have been reluctant to extend full legitimacy to Iraq's U.S.-backed government, are also rare. By comparison, Iraq has growing ties with non-Arab Iran.

Promises have been made by Saudi Arabia and Bahrain to open up embassies in Baghdad and the U.S. hope is that if Riyadh announces firm plans and dates then others will follow.

The Kuwait meeting is a follow-on from gatherings of Iraq's neighbours as well as permanent members of the U.N. Security Council that were held in Turkey and Egypt last year.

Maliki said Iraq had made great strides since then.

RICE SEEKS DEBT RELIEF

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who is at the meeting, has said she would push hard for Arab neighbours to "meet their obligations" and step up financial and diplomatic support that has not been forthcoming since the 2003 invasion.

About $66.5 billion of Iraq's $120.2 billion foreign debt has been forgiven, according to State Department estimates. Of the estimated $56 billion to $80 billion debt that remains, more than half is owed to Gulf countries, the department said.

Maliki said Iraq was still waiting for debt relief.

But Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said the Emir of Kuwait, Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, had agreed to create committees to study the question of reducing Iraq's compensation payments imposed after the 1991 Gulf War.

Under U.N.-imposed peace terms after the Gulf War, Iraq must pay 5 percent of oil income to its smaller neighbor as compensation for invading and annexing Kuwait in 1990.

Maliki also urged neighboring countries to make more effort to prevent militants crossing into Iraq. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem said in a speech that U.S. forces needed to leave Iraq to allow the "complete independence and sovereignty" of Iraq. Syria had made some suggestions on improving border security, he added.

Iraq's recent attempts to crush Shi'ite militias is also a central topic at the meeting and Maliki is expected to urge Arab countries to back those efforts.

A draft of a statement to be issued on Tuesday at the meeting said participants "welcome the Iraqi government's commitment to disarm and dismantle all militias and illegally armed groups, enforcing the rule of law, and ensuring the state's monopoly on armed forces." The statement, obtained by Reuters, also urged the "maintaining or opening of diplomatic missions in Iraq".

The two previous meetings of Iraq's neighbors in Egypt and Turkey last year were dominated by tensions between the United States and Iran, which Washington accuses of stirring up violence in Iraq. Tehran denies the charges.

At a group photo at the meeting's start, Rice was in the front row, four places away from Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki. U.S. officials said they did not interact.