IRAQ: Arab foreign ministers were meeting last night in an effort to decide whether a delegate from Iraq's US-backed governing council would be allowed represent the country at a ministerial meeting this week of the Arab League.
"Our message is: we are the representatives of the de facto Iraqi authority. We need to be represented at this ministerial meeting," Iraqi Foreign Minister Mr Hoshiyar Zebari, a Kurd newly-appointed by the council, told reporters in Cairo.
"This is a legitimate right for Iraq to occupy its seat, to be sitting side by side with the Arab brothers in this organisation."
Analysts say a decision by the Arab League foreign ministers could set an important precedent, and help determine whether the council - which has so far failed to win clear Arab recognition - will be allowed to fill Iraq's seat at future league meetings and in other bodies like the United Nations and OPEC.
"If they can fill the seat for this meeting ... they can fill it for any other meeting," a league source said.
Arab states have called the council a step in the right direction, but have been loathe to endorse the body for fear it would legitimise the US occupation of Iraq. Even yesterday they were at pains to distinguish between general support for the council and full recognition.
Jordanian Foreign Minister Mr Marwan Muasher said most Arab states wanted to send a "positive signal" to the Iraqi people, but emphasised that allowing a council delegate to join the talks did not equal recognition.
Foreign ministers of the Gulf Co-operation Council, which groups US allies Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman, yesterday voiced support for the Iraqi council, but stopped short of recognising it.