Iraq Neighbors Urged to Help

Ban Seeks Area Backing for Broader U.N. Mediation Role

UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 22 -- U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told a gathering of 19 foreign ministers and senior diplomats Saturday that peace in Iraq "will not be obtained through military means alone" and that Iraq's neighbors must do more to prevent extremists from crossing into the country.

"The U.N. stands ready to broaden its activity in support of the government and people of Iraq," Ban told the gathering. "I hope that the United Nations . . . can count on member states for their support."

The high-level meeting on Iraq, chaired by Ban and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, brought together U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, as well as representatives of China, Russia, Syria, Jordan, the World Bank and other key powers and organizations. It was organized to rally regional and international support for Iraq and to secure backing for a broader U.N. role in helping to mediate the country's bloody sectarian conflict.

But the closed-door meeting also served to highlight the tense relations between the United States and Iran over Iraq. Iran's top diplomat backed Ban's appeal for greater regional diplomacy but accused the United States of erecting an "obstacle" to such cooperation by what he described as harassment of Iranian officials visiting the country. Mottaki said U.S. forces had "inhumanely treated" a visiting Iranian delegation. He said a "destructive avalanche of American mistakes are continuing" to undermine peace in Iraq, according to the notes of a diplomat who attended the meeting.

Rice said she welcomes the prospect of a "broader, deepening" role for the international community in support of Iraq, according to the diplomat's notes. The United Nations' expanded role would provide a new "opportunity" to break through the political stalemate among the country's factions, she said, and she urged her colleagues to support "a stable, democratic and peaceful Iraq."

Maliki said he welcomes the U.N. role in facilitating a national reconciliation effort in his country. He appealed to the delegates to provide Iraq with greater economic support to rebuild the country.

"National reconciliation is the only way to impose peace, security and stability," Maliki told reporters after the meeting.

He acknowledged that his government is struggling to resolve a massive humanitarian crisis, which the United Nations estimates has driven more than 4 million civilians from their homes. But he insisted that conditions on the ground in Iraq are improving. "The security situation has improved, the economic situation has also improved; as a result, thousands of families who left their homes have decided to return to the country," Maliki said.

Saturday's meeting came more than a month after the U.N. Security Council passed a U.S.-sponsored resolution that permits the United Nations to play a more active role in mediating disputes between Iraq's Kurds, Shiite Muslims and Sunni Muslims.

Ban has vowed to increase the size of the U.N. mission in Baghdad from a maximum of 65 people to 95, and on Saturday, he introduced his new special envoy for Iraq, Staffan de Mistura of Sweden.

The secretary general said he may expand a small U.N. office in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil and reopen one in the southern city of Basra. The United Nations withdrew its staff from Basra earlier this year after Britain drew down its forces there.

Ban also said "more can be done" by the United Nations to respond to Iraq's humanitarian needs.