Australia PM backs Syria, Iran talks on Iraq

Sydney, Nov 13: Australian Prime Minister John Howard said today talks should be held with Syria and Iran on ending the violence in Iraq, lending support to a British proposal to engage both nations despite US criticism.

Howard, a staunch US ally and one of the first to commit troops to the US-led invasion of Iraq, said Syria and Iran were part of the West Asia equation.

''I am in favour of talking to countries like Syria and Iran,'' Howard told Sydney radio.

''But I am very sceptical as to whether you will have a fair dinkum (honest) response from either of those countries.'' In an annual foreign policy speech, British Prime Minister Tony Blair will on Monday call for Damascus and Tehran to be engaged in efforts to stem violence in Iraq and to secure a broader West Asia peace settlement, a spokeswoman said.

She said Blair will argue the need for a West Asia strategy that includes making clear to both countries how they can help while warning them of the consequences of hindering peace.

The idea has so far been spurned by US President George W Bush, who is fiercely critical of both countries. Blair is Bush's top ally on Iraq.

Engaging Syria and Iran on Iraq is an idea favoured by some members of a US panel that Bush has tasked with exploring alternative Iraq strategies.

Howard said the panel could recommended talks with these two countries that are among Iraq's neighbours.

''I am in favour of trying that, but I don't think anybody should imagine for a moment that is going to deliver a quick outcome,'' he said.

''Many people believe they are directly responsible for a lot of the violence, for the improvised explosive devices that are used in many parts of the country. The Syrian border has been very porous to say the least.'' Bush is considering a shift in Iraq policy after his Republican Party received a drubbing in last week's mid-term elections, losing control of both houses of Congress, largely because of anger over the Iraq war.

Howard has steadfastly refused to change tact on Iraq, saying Australian troops will remain until Baghdad can handle its own security. Australia's opposition Labor party has vowed to withdraw these troops if elected in a poll due in 2007.

Australia has about 1,500 troops in and around Iraq and, according to recent opinion polls, almost two in three Australians want these forces brought home.

Reuters

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