Iranian and Gulf Arab officials met in Baghdad on Saturday on the sidelines of a regional summit that Iraq hoped would encourage its neighbors to talk to each other instead of settling scores on its territory.
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The meetings come months after regional foes Iran and Saudi Arabia resumed direct talks in Iraq which have achieved no breakthrough but have helped offset escalating tension in the Middle East.
Iraq's security has improved in recent years but it is still plagued by big power rivalries, rampant corruption among its own politicians and heavily armed militia groups.
Competition for influence in the Middle East between Iran on one side and the United States, Israel and Gulf Arab states on the other has made Iraq the scene of attacks against US forces and assassinations of Iranian and Iraqi paramilitary leaders.
The strained relationships within the region have also led to disruptions to global oil supplies with attacks on Saudi Arabian oil installations – blamed on but denied by Tehran.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian met his counterparts from Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates on Saturday, officials from the two Gulf Arab states said, but provided no further details.
There was no indication of any direct meetings between Iran and Saudi Arabia, but Iraq said talks between the two countries, which began in April, were continuing.
French President Emmanuel Macron also attended the Baghdad meeting, hailing it as a major boost for Iraq and its leadership. The country had been largely shunned by Arab leaders for the past few decades because of security concerns amid back-to-back wars and internal unrest, its airport frequently attacked with rockets by insurgents.
On Saturday, Iraqi leaders were on hand at Baghdad International Airport to receive the red carpet arrivals. They included Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, Jordan's King Abdullah and Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. It was the first official visit to Iraq by the Qatari emir, whose country's ties with Saudi Arabia are also fraught with tensions. Relations have improved recently since a declaration was signed with the kingdom and other Arab Gulf states to ease a years-long rift.
Macron was due to stay an extra day, meet Iraqi leaders and visit French special forces fighting Islamic State insurgents.
Organizers of the Baghdad summit said they did not expect any diplomatic breakthroughs. "Getting these countries to sit around the table – that will be achievement enough," said one Iraqi government official.
Iranian officials have said they are focused more on the outcome of talks in Vienna with Western powers over Iran's nuclear program and international sanctions.
"The meeting in Iraq ... is only focused on Iraq and how the regional countries can cooperate to help Iraq," an Iranian official told Reuters ahead of the Baghdad summit.
Ahead of the summit, UAE Vice-President Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum met Qatar's al-Thani and described him as a "brother and friend" in a sign of warming ties between the Gulf rivals.
Iraqi special forces deployed in Baghdad, particularly around the Green Zone, seat of the Iraqi government, where the summit was held. Participants were expected to discuss a regional water crisis, the war in Yemen and a severe economic and political crisis in Lebanon that has brought the country to the point of collapse.
Lebanon, which has been without a functional government for the past year, and Syria, which has been suspended from the Arab League since 2011, were not represented at the meeting.
Macron described Saturday's meeting as "historic," showcasing Iraq's return to stability following the ruinous war against the Islamic State group, which was defeated in 2017.
Sunday's meeting was a chance for Iraqi leaders to underscore their recent efforts to portray Iraq as a neutral mediator in the region's crises and re-engage with the world after decades of conflict.
"Iraq, which for years has been a headline for war and conflicts, is hosting leaders and representatives of the region today to affirm their support for Iraqi sovereignty and prosperity," said President Barham Salih.
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