Iraq to Press Syria to Sign Arab Deal, League to Meet Saturday

Iraq said it would try to convince neighboring Syria to accept an Arab League deal to end unrest and head off sweeping economic sanctions, during a visit by the group's chief to Baghdad on Thursday.

Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi told journalists in the Iraqi capital that "the ball is in the Syrian court" but warned that if Damascus wanted to avoid sanctions, it would have to sign on to the initiative.

"Our conversation (with Iraq) ... was to explore whether the Iraqi government is willing to exert its influence with Syria," Arabi said at a joint news conference with Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari.

"The Iraqi government told us that it will carry out contacts with the Syrian government to resolve this issue."

Zebari added: "We will exert efforts and discuss with the Syrian government how to remove all the obstacles facing this initiative."

Arabi declined to set a deadline for Syria to agree to the plan.

"The ball is in the Syrian court. They can come and sign at any time, perhaps 24 hours after that, there will be the observers there. It's up to them. They want to stop the economic sanctions, they sign."

Iraq has refused to enforce the sweeping sanctions against Damascus approved by the Arab League on November 27 over the Syrian government's deadly crackdown on protests.

Those measures included an immediate freeze on transactions with Damascus and its central bank and of Syrian regime assets in Arab countries.

But Iraq's close trade ties with Syria, from which it imports significant amounts of foodstuffs, pushed the Iraqi government to abstain from the Arab League vote on sanctions.

Zebari said Iraq's abstention from the vote on the Syrian sanctions was due to its position as a geographic neighbor, a major trading partner, and the fact that a large Iraqi community lives in Syria.

"This doesn't contradict ... (Iraq) standing and speaking out, condemning bloodshed," he added. "We can help, we can play a useful role to support the Arab initiative."

Local human rights groups said more than 100 people have been killed in Syria since the weekend, and the U.N. estimates at least 4,000 have died since March when anti-regime protests erupted.

"There are accusations from both sides, and what is needed now ... is to inject a third party which is observers from all Arab countries ... to try, by their presence, to stop or at least decrease greatly the violence," Arabi said.

Meanwhile, an Arab diplomat said Thursday that Arab League ministers will meet this weekend to mull a response to Syria, which wants the bloc to lift sanctions as its price to allow observers to monitor deadly unrest.

A taskforce chaired by Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani and comprising the foreign ministers of Algeria, Egypt, Oman and Sudan will gather in Doha with Arab League chief Arabi.

Syria said on Sunday it will allow observers into the country as part of the Arab peace plan.

But Foreign Minister Walid Muallem, in a letter to Arabi, said Syria would accept the monitors under certain conditions.

According to the text, published in the Syrian press on Tuesday, Muallem demanded the complete overturn of sanctions approved by the Arab League on November 27.

"The government considers all decisions taken by the Arab League ... including Syria's suspension and the sanctions taken by the ministerial committee against it, to be null and void once Damascus signs the protocol" for observers, said the text.