WASHINGTON, Nov 25: President George W. Bush, when he meets Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in Jordan on Thursday, will propose calling a summit of Arab states to halt bloodletting in Iraq, official said.
Iraq’s powerful Sadr militia, a key member of Prime Minister Maliki’s ruling coalition, has threatened to pull out of the alliance if Mr Maliki goes ahead with the meeting.
But the White House said on Saturday that such threats could not deter the two leaders from meeting in Jordanian capital Amman.
Meanwhile, an influential US newspaper–Wall Street Journal–reported on Saturday that President Bush would propose a summit of America’s security partners in the Middle East to resolve the Iraqi crisis during his two-day talks with the Iraqi leader. Iran and Syria will not be invited to this summit.
The report indicated that US Vice-President Dick Cheney’s visit to Saudi Arabia on Saturday was part of the Bush administration’s effort to coordinate a regional security strategy for Iraq.
The White House proposed the Bush-Maliki talks a day after Tehran announced it was inviting Iraq and Syria to a summit meeting in Tehran to evolve a regional strategy for restoring peace in Iraq.
But Iraqi President Jalal Talabani had to postpone his trip to Iran to attend the summit as Baghdad's airport was closed after unprecedented violence.
An Iranian news agency later reported that Mr Talabani would leave Baghdad for Iran on Sunday, provided the airport reopens.
In Washington, the White House tried to refocus the world’s attention on the Bush-Maliki summit, saying that “securing Baghdad and gaining control of the violent situation will be a priority agenda item when President Bush meets Prime Minister al-Maliki on Thursday.”
