Moscow wants new international conference on Iraq : Official

Moscow, Apr 6 (UNI) Russia today called for a new international conference on Iraq in order to actively help the Iraqi people to resolve their problem.

"The idea of holding an international conference on Iraq has been generally accepted in the West and in Iraq, and is winning increasing support in the world," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister and presidential envoy to West Asia Alexander Saltanov told mediapersons.

''The Iraqi problem cannot be resolved unless a political process that would lead to national accord is made broader. Those who are set to struggle for the preservation of peace in the country should be involved in the process,'' Saltanov said.

He said the format for the international meeting had already been determined and would include Foreign Ministers of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, who attended the Baghdad conference, last month.

He said the general situation in the West Asia ''is remaining complex, and negative tendencies are lingering''.

He called on the international community and Iraq ''not to fritter away time and make real steps for the restoration of the negotiation process.'' Last month, the international conference, for the first time, gathered representatives of the outside forces involved in the Iraqi standoff - the US and Britain on one side of the table and Syria and Iran on the other.

Initially, the meeting was planned as a foreign ministerial event but later due to security reasons it was decided to hold the conference at a lower level.

UNI