Iraq's Neighbours Meet To Tackle Security

CAIRO, July 21 (AFP) - Foreign ministers from countries bordering Iraq gathered in Cairo on Wednesday to tackle the new Iraqi government's demands for help in restoring security to the ravaged nation.
"We expect our neighbours to stand behind the Iraqi people and give more than words to help restablish sovereignty for a peaceful Iraq," Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said as the meeting opened.
It is the first time the ministers from Iraq, its neighbours Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Turkey, as well as host Egypt, have met since the US-led occupation transferred power to an interim Baghdad government last month.
Both the caretaker government of Prime Minister Iyad Allawi and the US-led forces still in Iraq have blamed most of the attacks on foreign fighters and those allegedly linked to Al-Qaeda such as Jordanian-born Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi.
They have repeatedly accused Syria and Iran in particular of failing to stop insurgents from entering Iraq to carry out attacks which have plagued the country since the downfall of Saddam Hussein in April last year.
The new government is encouraging Arab and Islamic countries to contribute troops to the multinational force in Iraq, but has made it clear it would prefer Iraq's neighbours not to participate.
Allawai is scheduled to join the foreign ministers for lunch and also hold talks with EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, who is on a tour of the Middle East.
UN chief Kofi Annan's special representative for Iraq, Lakhdar Brahimi, is also sitting in on the discussions.