Iraq opts out of security talks

Iraq's neighbours were set to discuss postwar regional security yesterday amid mounting US accusations that militants slipping across their borders were behind a wave of attacks in the country.

But a spat over whether Iraq itself would be allowed to attend the Damascus meeting of foreign ministers from seven Middle East states overshadowed the talks even before they began.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said he would not attend because he was not sent a proper invitation, adding that the US-appointed Iraqi Governing Council would not accept any decisions taken.

Syria extended Zebari a last-minute invitation but said the seven ministers would decide in an initial session whether he would be allowed to participate.

Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammad al-Salem al-Sabah said the talks would only happen if Iraq was represented.

"Our position is clear that the official meeting will not take place unless Iraq attends," he said in remarks carried by the official Kuwaiti news agency KUNA.

The invitation to Iraq should be from Syria as hosts as well as the other countries attending, he said.

Iraq did not attend three previous regional meetings in Turkey, Iran and Saudi Arabia. The other countries set to attend the weekend talks were Jordan and Egypt.

Concerns about the impact of Iraq's political future on their own security have driven Middle East nations to hold periodic meetings, despite decades of mutual mistrust and deep divisions over the US-led war that toppled Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

The two-day meeting, coming as Washington lays increasing blame on foreign fighters for a wave of violence in post-war Iraq, was expected to focus on the need to prevent militants from crossing the porous borders.

Washington called on Syria and Iran last week to take action to stop the infiltration of "foreign terrorists" after a string of suicide bombings in Iraq that killed 35 people.

Analysts said the violence in Iraq, which has seen daily attacks on US troops, as well as on embassies, the United Nations and Red Cross, would be the main issue in Damascus.

Some of Iraq's neighbours are concerned that inviting a representative of the US-backed Governing Council would legitimise the occupation they oppose.

Zebari was allowed to take Iraq's seat at an Arab League ministerial meeting in September after hours of deliberation.