Iraqi politicians made goodwill gestures at a reconciliation conference in Cairo on Sunday and President Jalal Talabani said he was willing to talk to violent opponents of his government if they wanted to contact him. "If those who call themselves the Iraqi resistance want to contact me, I will welcome them," Talabani told reporters on the second day of the Arab League-sponsored meetings in Cairo.During the opening session on Saturday, Talabani had excluded jihadists and members of the entourage of ousted dictator Saddam Hussein from talks. "To those who took up arms to end the occupation, we say the solution will not come through weapons but through political dialogue," he said Sunday. Talabani made a distinction between those he described as "terrorists", Saddamists and people who fight to oust occupation forces. It was not clear whether his comments amounted to an invitation to members of the former Baathist regime, but they signaled a more conciliatory tone after the talks' stormy start.
Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari and Arab League chief Amr Moussa reported progress after the talks made a shaky start on Saturday with a walk-out threat by the largest Shiite alliance.
Jaafari had his first-ever meeting with Harith al-Dhari of the influential Sunni Associated of Muslim Scholars, helping to break the ice between two factions which have diametrically opposite views of the U.S. military presence in Iraq. Dhari's spokesman said he welcomed Talabani's openness to contacts with the armed opposition, calling it "a correct step which reflects the reality on the ground in Iraq." But the government should go further and recognize the resistance, he added.