Published June 5, 2006
AMMAN, Jordan -- A long-delayed conference for national reconciliation in Iraq under the sponsorship of the Arab League will not take place June 22 in Baghdad as scheduled.
An Arab diplomatic source told United Press International Monday that the reason behind postponing the conference once again is continuation of differences over participants.
"At a time Sunni parties want certain armed groups to participate in the conference, other Iraqi factions are utterly opposed to that," the source said on condition not to be named.
Another reason for the delay is the refusal of the Sunni Committee of Muslim Ulemas to hold the conference in the U.S.-controlled "Green Zone" in Baghdad.
Arab League Secretary-General Amr Mousa announced at the last Arab summit held in Khartoum in March that the conference for national reconciliation between the various Iraqi factions will be held in Baghdad under the League's sponsorship.
The source said the dangerous deterioration of security in Iraq and the escalation of sectarian violence between Sunnis and Shiites was also cited as a reason for the postponement of the conference.
In a related issue, the source played down the possibility that a meeting of foreign ministers of Iraq's neighboring countries will convene in Iran on June 25.
He said "the conference will probably not take place in Tehran in view of the embarrassment of many participating countries which take into consideration the growing tensions between Iran and the U.S. and certain Arab countries over Tehran's nuclear program.
He said contacts are being undertaken to hold the meeting in the Azeri capital, Baku, on the sidelines of the conference of foreign ministers of Islamic countries scheduled on June 19.
The conference of Iraq's neighbors include the foreign ministers of Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iran, Turkey, and Syria in addition to Egypt and the Arab League.