CAIRO, March 4: Arab foreign ministers meeting in Cairo insisted on Sunday that the only way to achieve security in Iraq was through a political solution, stressing the need to preserve Iraqi unity.

In a final statement, the Arab League ministers called for “respecting the unity, sovereignty and independence of Iraq, and its Arab and Muslim identity, and reject any attempt to divide it.”

“Achieving stability in Iraq and overcoming the current crisis requires parallel security and political solutions to cure the causes of the crisis and to remove the roots of sectarianism and terrorism,” the statement said. The ministers also stressed the need for a larger Sunni participation in Iraqi politics.

The statement called for “one Iraqi government for all Iraqis and to respect the will of all Iraqis to decide their own political future.”

The ministers also called for a review of the Iraqi constitution and the dissolution of all militias, a point stressed by Egypt's minister Ahmed Abul Gheit: “Confronting and dissolving the militias is the essential priority for any possibility of national reconciliation.”

The ministers also discussed a meeting to be held on March 10 in Baghdad. Iraq has invited Syria, Iran, Turkey, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt and the five permanent members of the Security Council, the Arab League and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference to discuss the country's future.—AFP