An Arab summit of regional heads kicked off in Baghdad on Thursday with a strong focus on resolving the year-long Syrian crisis that the UN says has left at least 9,000 people dead.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon met Arab leaders to discuss a UN-backed peace plan for Syria, with regional leaders endorsing special envoy Kofi Annan's six-point plan that calls for a ceasefire and talks.

But Arab states remain sharply split over how to deal with the violence, with oil-rich Gulf monarchies Saudi Arabia and Qatar advocating a hardline approach to arm rebels, while Iraq, Algeria, and Egypt have warned against the move, instead pushing for political reconciliation.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari's confirmed Wednesday evening that the summit of the 22-member Arab League will steer clear of the strong moves advocated by Qatar and Saudi Arabia to resolve the Syria crisis.

"The Arab League initiative is clear and did not demand that Bashar step down," Zebari said after a ministerial meeting. "We (foreign ministers) also did not ask for that and the upcoming decision will not go in this direction."

It "is up to the people of Syria to decide, to choose, to elect their leaders. It's not up to the League or to anybody else," he said.

Asked whether the arming of Syrian rebels was raised, Zebari said: "We did not discuss this subject at all."

Syria has accepted Annan's proposal, but rejects any initiatives taken by the summit and said it would deal only with individual Arab states. Damascus was not invited to the summit due to the country's suspension from the Arab League last year over the crisis.

"This is an important initial step that could bring an end to the violence and the bloodshed," Ban said of Syria's accepting Annan's plan, before arriving in Baghdad on Thursday.

"I strongly urge President Assad of Syria to put those commitments into immediate effect."

Arab states, while rejecting any foreign intervention in Syria, appear to have backed away from their initial proposal that Assad step aside to allow his deputy to organize talks.

Annan's proposal calls for the withdrawal of heavy weapons and troops from population centers, humanitarian assistance, the release of prisoners, and free movement and access for journalists. But it does not explicitly call for Assad to step down from office.

Diplomats say one of Annan's ideas is for a UN observer mission to monitor any eventual ceasefire, a mechanism likely to require a UN Security Council mandate.

Iraqi leaders have said 10 visiting regional leaders will attend the summit, following two days of meetings of Arab economy and foreign ministers, including neighboring emirate Kuwait.

Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem Al-Thani meanwhile said in an interview with Al-Jazeera, excerpts of which were posted on the network's website, that his country was sending a "message" to Iraq's leadership by reducing its representation at the Arab Summit to a minimum.

The premier said he would have wanted the level of representation to be higher "but we will sit with them in the future and talk," he added. He did not elaborate.



Qatar is represented at the summit by its ambassador to the Cairo-based Arab League, Saif bin Muqaddam.

Egypt's Arab League ambassador, Afifi Abdel Wahab, told journalists that the pan-Arab body's next summit will be held in the Qatari capital Doha.

More than 100,000 members of Iraq's forces are providing security in Baghdad, and Iraq has spent upwards of US$500 million to refurbish major hotels, summit venues, and infrastructure.

Despite the dramatically tighter measures, a suicide bomber at a police checkpoint in west Baghdad killed one policeman and wounded two others on Tuesday, officials said.

A week ago, Al-Qaeda attacks nationwide killed at least 50 people, including three in a car bombing opposite the foreign ministry.







(Reuters, AFP, Al-Akhbar)