AMMAN — Jordan hosts a Middle East summit Tuesday
bringing together regional and international players hoping to help resolve
regional crises, particularly in neighboring Iraq.
اضافة اعلان
The "Baghdad II" meeting, which will also include
officials from France and the EU, follows an August 2021 summit in Iraq's
capital organized at the initiative of French President Emmanuel Macron.
Iraq only recently arrived at a fragile compromise
government after a year of political stalemate.
The summit, held on the shores of the Dead Sea, aims to
"provide support for the stability, security and prosperity of Iraq,"
the French presidency said in a statement, adding it hopes this will
benefit "the entire region".
The meeting takes place as several countries in the region
are mired in unrest.
For over three months, Iran has bloodily suppressed a wave
of popular demonstrations sparked by the September 16 death in custody of Mahsa
Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian of Kurdish origin.
The meeting will also be attended by the EU's top diplomat,
Josep Borrell, who has been mediating talks aimed at reviving Iran's nuclear
deal with world powers.
Syria continues to be a battleground for competing
geopolitical interests and Lebanon remains in an economic and political
quagmire.
Baghdad II will see Jordan host Iraq's new Prime Minister
Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, Iran's foreign minister and delegations from Turkey
and Saudi Arabia.
Jordan, which has seen strikes and protests against rising
fuel prices in recent days, has said the army will deploy on the road from
Amman airport to the Dead Sea conference center, about 50km west of the
capital.
'No one expects miracles'
"This summit has great ambitions but no one expects
miracles," says Riad Kahwaji, director of the Institute for Near East and
Gulf Military Analysis.
Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian is expected
to be busy on the sidelines of the conference.
France's role as a mediator is crucial, Kahwaji said, with
Paris "keeping the thread of dialogue on behalf of Westerners with Iran,
especially as the Vienna nuclear negotiations are currently in stalemate".
The Dubai-based analyst said it is necessary to gauge the
"disposition of Tehran — which plays a central role in the crises of the
region from Iraq to Syria through to Lebanon and Yemen — to compromise".
Iran's involvement in the Ukrainian conflict through the
supply of drones to Russia further complicates the discussions, Kahwaji said.
Tehran has accused regional rival Saudi Arabia — with which
it has had no diplomatic relations since 2016 — of fomenting unrest in Iran as
protests rage on.
On Monday, Iran's Amir-Abdollahian said Tehran was
"ready to return to normal relations" with Riyadh "whenever the
Saudi side is ready".
Test for Iraq
The conference will also be a test for Iraq's Sudani, appointed
prime minister in late October after more than a year of political deadlock.
Considered closer to Iran than his predecessor, Mustafa Al-Kadhemi,
this will be Sudani's first major international meeting.
In its statement, the French presidency said it hoped for
"continuity" from the new Iraqi leader.
Hamzeh Hadad, a visiting scholar at the European Council on
Foreign Relations, believes the first summit in 2021 had been intended to allow
Kadhemi to show he could "gather neighboring leaders, in particular the
Gulf states, in Baghdad".
During this meeting, Sudani will have to demonstrate
"he can maintain these relations and show that they do not depend on
personal ties", Hadad said.
"I think this time around, both Iraqis and non-Iraqis
would like to see a more serious agenda coming from this conference," he
added.
The meeting is also expected to address issues such as
global warming, food security, water resources and energy cooperation.
Macron will also meet with His Majest King Abdullah, an
"ally in the fight against terrorism", according to Paris.
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