Iraq PM chides neighbors for lack of support

By Rania El Gamal and Ulf Laessing

KUWAIT (Reuters) - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki chided neighboring states on Tuesday for failing to bolster ties with Baghdad and write off Iraq's debts now that Saddam Hussein is gone and Iraq is not a threat to the region.

Maliki, speaking at a meeting in Kuwait of foreign ministers from the region and Western powers, did not name any countries but his remarks appeared aimed at Sunni Arab states that have only low-level ties with his Shi'ite-led government.

He said Iraq was now a vastly different country from that under Saddam, who ruled Iraq with an iron fist for decades until he was ousted in 2003 by U.S.-led forces.

"Iraq today is different from the previous Iraq which assaulted its neighbors," Maliki said.

He said Iraq was ready to play a "constructive role" in fostering security and stability in the region and urged neighboring states to open embassies in Baghdad.

"It's difficult for us to explain why diplomatic ties have not been resumed with Iraq. Many other foreign countries have kept diplomatic missions in Baghdad regardless of security considerations," Maliki said.

No ambassador from a Sunni Arab nation has been stationed permanently in Baghdad since Egypt's envoy was kidnapped and killed shortly after arriving in 2005. Visits by top officials from Arab states, which have been reluctant to extend full legitimacy to Iraq's U.S.-backed government, are also rare.

By comparison, Iraq has growing ties with non-Arab Iran.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who has pushed Arab states to be more responsive on ties and debt relief, said Iraq was being reintegrated into the Arab neighborhood. Some states had stepped forward to offer diplomatic representation in Baghdad, she told reporters without providing any specifics.

"We urge Iraq's neighbors to strengthen their ties," Rice said.

Promises have been made by Saudi Arabia and Bahrain to open up embassies in Baghdad. Washington hopes that if regional powerhouse Riyadh announces dates then others will follow.

The Kuwait meeting is a follow-on from gatherings of Iraq's neighbors as well as permanent members of the U.N. Security Council that were held in Turkey and Egypt last year.

The next meeting would be held in Baghdad, Rice said, calling it "yet another sign that things are moving forward".

But violence continued in Iraq. The U.S. military announced three Marines had been killed in the past two days.

North of Baghdad, a female suicide bomber killed eight people and wounded 17 when she blew herself up outside a police station, police said. And in Baghdad, a rocket attack in the city's east killed six people and wounded 10, police added.