Istanbul: The foreign ministers of Iraq and other countries in the region met here today ahead of talks with major Western powers to seek ways to stabilise the war-ravaged country.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan chaired the meeting which besides Iraq and host country Turkey included Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Bahrain. Iraqi leaders say there has been a downward trend in violence in recent months and feel they are in a stronger position to convince the international community that the situation in Iraq is improving.

But Turkey's threat to launch a cross-border operation against Kurdish rebel bases in northern Iraq, coupled with accusations that the region's Iraqi Kurdish leadership harbours and aids the separatists, has raised fresh tensions. The ministers were to join US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and counterparts from the four other permanent members of the UN Security Council and the G8 countries for extended discussions later in the day.

The Istanbul conference on Iraq, which opened late yesterday, is the second of its kind after a first gathering in Egypt in May. It aims to boost global support for efforts to end daily bloodshed in the country. The participants are expected to discuss efforts to help end Iraq's sectarian violence, find ways of resolving the country's energy crisis and address the plight of four million Iraqis who are either displaced internally or have fled to Jordan and Syria.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the heads of the Arab League and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, as well as European Union officials will also attend the talks.

Source : PTI