Maliki says summit should be launch pad for reconciliation

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Monday called on Arab countries to seize the opportunity of the Doha-based 21 st Arab summit to work out a partnership-based Arab strategy. “We hope that the summit will be a starting point for Arab reconciliation, which has become an inevitable choice,” Maliki said in his speech at the summit. Maliki has pressed for an Arab strategy that is based on genuine partnership. Earlier today, the two-day summit opened in the Qatari capital Doha with the participation of several Arab leaders. On the summit’s agenda are the Darfur conflict, the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, as well as the Iraqi and Palestinian issues. SS (P) 1