| Submit your comments on this article |
| Iraq |
| Allawi in Syria amid govt standoff |
| 2010-09-30 |
| [Al Arabiya] Former premier Iyad Allawi, who is a leading candidate in the contested race to lead Iraq's new government held talks on Wednesday with Syrian President Bashar "Pencilneck" al-Assad about his country's protracted coalition talks, Al Arabiya news hound said. Assad told Allawi that Syria would "support any agreement that gets Iraqis out of the current crisis and contribute to the formation of a government of national unity that brings together all the forces represented in parliament," the official Syrian Arab News Agency reported. Allawi spoke of the "enormous confidence Iraqis have in Syria which has kept itself at an equal distance from all Iraqi parties," SANA added. It was Allawi's second meeting with Assad in recent months. The two men met in July. Allawi, who heads the cross-sectarian Iraqiya coalition, narrowly defeated Prime Minister Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's Shiite-dominated bloc in the March 7 elections. But no single group has pulled together enough support to name a new prime minister and start assembling a government. Allawi told AP early Wednesday that his coalition will not take part in any government headed by al-Maliki. In an interview with Al Arabiya on Tuesday, Allawi said that Syria, Turkey and Russia had informed him that Iran "has underlined his name in red", in a hint that the Islamic state will prevent him from reaching the post of Iraq's prime minister. He added that Iran has a special reservation on the whole Iraqiya coalition and refuses to hold any dialogue with the bloc. Also in Damascus this week is Shiite holy man Moqtada Tateral-Sadr, who also leads a political group that has opposed keeping al-Maliki in power. The meetings in Damascus appear to be part of a flurry of deal-making to find ways of forming a government. Iran has been accused for years of aiding violent gangs -- a charge Tehran denies. But U.S. and Iraqi authorities say a possible splintering of Shiite factions in Iraq could open even more channels for Iran to back proxy attacks and harassment of American forces and Sunni allies. Such a scenario would further strengthen Iran's hand, which already reaches into the political hierarchy through deep ties with major Shiite parties. Since the U.S.-led invasion, Iran has had powerful connections in Iraq through Shiite holy mans such as Iranian-born Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani and Moqtada al-Sadr, who has been in self-exile in Iran since 2007. |
| Posted by:Fred |