Syria calls for all Iraqis to be included in political process

DAMASCUS, Feb 14 (AFP) - Syria's foreign minister on Monday called for all Iraqis to be included in the political process, in reference to the ousted Sunni Arab elite which has virtually no representation in the country's new national assembly.
"We hope that in the coming months all sides will participate in the Iraqi political process and a national dialogue will be established," Faruq al-Shara said after talks with Spanish counterpart Miguel Angel Moratinos.
"All Iraqis must feel part of the electoral process, which should allow them to maintain national unity," said Shara in Syria's first official reaction to the election results announced in Baghdad on Sunday.
The main Shiite bloc sponsored by Iraq's Shiite spiritual leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, emerged the victor with 48.1 percent of the vote in the January 30 elections which Iraqi Sunnis largely boycotted.

02/14/2005 17:47 GMT - AFP