Iraq's neighbors meet in Istanbul

ISTANBUL - Officials from countries neighboring Iraq began a two-day meeting here Friday to discuss the political process in the war-torn country.
Diplomats from Iraq and its six neighbors -- Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Turkey -- plus Egypt and Bahrain began talks to prepare the ground for a meeting between their foreign ministers on Saturday.
Only Saudi Arabia's foreign minister would be unable to participate and is sending instead its deputy foreign minister, a Turkish official said.
The meeting follows Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari's announcement of a partial cabinet line-up Thursday, more than three months after landmark January elections.
The foreign ministers have met regularly since January 2003, when Turkey spearheaded the initiative as part of efforts to force Baghdad to comply with UN resolutions and avert a US intervention.

04/29/2005 12:40 GMT