Iraq calls for dialogue to end crisis

BAGHDAD, JAN 13: Iraq, in an apparent shift of policy, said it would prefer a balanced dialogue to solve its impasse with the United Stat...

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BAGHDAD, JAN 13: Iraq, in an apparent shift of policy, said it would prefer a balanced dialogue to solve its impasse with the United States and Britain following their military confrontation.

"Iraq sees a need for a balanced dialogue based on good intentions under the umbrella of the Arab nation.. To find practical solutions to the situations," a spokesman said after president Saddam Hussein met top aides yesterday.

"If solutions are desired in a serious manner that serve the Arab nation’s interest, they should be based on pan-Arab security," the spokesman was quoted as saying by the official Iraqi newspapers today.

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The statement appeared to tone down some of the rhetoric against some Arab states, although the spokesman still called for Arabs to condemn supporters of the US and British strikes.

He said the right solution to the crisis should "consider any aggression from a foreign faction upon any Arab country as an aggression on the Arab nation as a whole".

The spokesman did not specify Saudi Arabia and Kuwait as backers of the US-led strikes although Iraqi media and officials have earlier campaigned against the two Gulf states.