Representatives of rival factions in Iraq said on Monday that they had agreed to renounce violence at talks in Finland facilitated by former peace negotiators in Northern Ireland and South Africa.
The meeting brought together 36 participants, including senior Sunni, Shia and Kurdish politicians, for three days of talks at a secret location in Finland. The talks were co-chaired by Martin McGuinness, a former IRA commander, who helped find a solution to the violence in Northern Ireland in 1998, and Cyril Ramaphosa, who assisted in bringing an end to apartheid in South Africa in 1993.
All sides are now convinced that they should participate together in bringing stability to their country and agreed on renouncing armed struggle, Osama al-Tikriti from the Iraqi Islamic Party, a Sunni political group, told reporters at Helsinki Airport. We have made steps, great steps forward, he said.
Reconciliation efforts between politicians from Iraqs religious and ethnic communities have moved forward in recent weeks. In one of the most significant developments, Sunni political parties look set to rejoin the Shia-dominated government after walking out nine months ago to protest what they said was the governments bias against Sunnis.
Violence continues, however, much of the result of a crackdown on Shia militias by Iraqi government forces and US troops. Participants in the talks in Finland said all parties agreed that foreign troops must leave Iraq, but only when Iraqi forces are ready to assume responsibility for security. We need efficient, trained and qualified (Iraqi) security forces who are able to operate so that it would make it unnecessary to have foreign forces in Iraq, said Humam Hammoudi, the Shia chairman of the parliaments Constitutional Review Committee. 
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