Rice calls for Arab unity with Iraq

MANAMA, Bahrain, April 21 (UPI) -- The U.S. secretary of state urged Arab countries Monday to open embassies in Baghdad and relieve any outstanding debts with the fledgling Iraqi government.

Condoleezza Rice attended a meeting Monday with Bahraini Foreign Minister Khalid al-Khalifa to discuss regional issues ahead of a ministerial meeting in Kuwait Tuesday on Iraqi security issues.

Rice said that Iraq's neighbors should extend the same debt relief to Iraq that Paris Club members have, Bahrain's Gulf Daily News said.

The Paris Club is an informal group of wealthy nations focused on debt restructuring.

The U.S. State Department says Paris Club members wrote off more than $66 billion of Iraq's debt but notes countries in the Gulf region still own more than half of Iraq's estimated $80 billion debt.

Rice said at a news conference with Khalifa Monday that several countries in the region expressed interest in re-establishing their embassies in Baghdad and noted Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari made "certain inquiries" into helping countries forge formal diplomatic ties to Iraq.

Beyond debt relief and diplomacy, Rice stressed the importance of "sustaining Iraq" on its path to reconciliation, "reintegration into the region (and) its reintegration into its Arab identity."