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| Iraq |
| Rice meets with Arab foreign ministers |
| 2008-04-22 |
| U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice tried Monday to rally support for Iraq's government among its Arab neighbors. Rice met with foreign ministers from eight Arab nations in Bahrain to discuss debt relief and diplomatic relations with Iraq, The New York Times reported. The discussions also dealt with the political situations in Lebanon and Gaza, the Times said. "A number of countries around the table talked about their desire to have permanent representatives" in Baghdad, Rice said, adding that on the issue of debt relief "it's just a matter of getting the negotiations done." Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait have said they would send ambassadors to Iraq but have yet to do so. The Arab officials did take the concrete step of agreeing to have Iraq seated at the table of future meetings. Rice called that "a very good step forward for the reintegration of Iraq into regional affairs." |
| Posted by:Fred |