Syria supports deal on Iraq, urges conciliation

DAMASCUS, Mar 11 (Reuters) Syria backs a negotiated solution to violence in Iraq that includes US troop withdrawal and urges convening a conciliation conference to stop the civil strife, government newspapers said today.

''Syria supports a political solution that returns peace and stability to Iraq,'' the newspapers quoted a Syrian statement read at an international meeting in Baghdad yesterday as saying.

''Reconciliation requires preparing for a conference, solving disputes on articles in the constitution, disbanding the militias, and a timetable for the pullout of foreign forces,'' the statement said.

Deputy Foreign Minister Ahmad Arnous attended the conference, as well as Syria's ally Iran and Washington, despite US allegations that Damascus and Tehran are helping rebels responsible for attacks on Iraqis and US troops.

The Damascus government, which hosts around one million Iraqi refugees, has repeatedly said it was willing to work on stabilising Iraq but a timetable for the withdrawal of US troops was needed to achieve peace.

The United States has refused to set a schedule, saying it would embolden the rebels. Syria says a schedule would raise its credibility with the rebels to reach a deal.

Iraqi political players of different sects have been visiting Damascus, which is gauging what role it could play in convening a conference that brings them together to prevent civil war all sides agree could be catastrophic for the region.

Although Syria has links with politicians from the Shi'ite sect dominating the post Saddam Hussien political system it has supported calls by Arab Sunnis to revise the policy of firing former members of Iraq's Baath Party, which ruled Iraq for 35 years, from the army and the government.

Syria says Iraq's federal constitution, written under US occupation, should not comprise the country's unity, encourage sectarianism and erode Iraq's ''Arab identity''.

REUTERS SP VC1840