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Hectic Euro-Arab diplomatic activity to avert war

By Atul Aneja

MANAMA (BAHRAIN) Feb. 9. Coinciding with what appears to be greater openness on the part of Iraq, Arab countries are holding intensive discussions on forging a joint initiative with key

European countries, aimed at averting a war.

The objective of the exercise, which comes even as Baghdad today handed over fresh documents to the United Nations weapons inspector, Hans Blix, and the IAEA chief, Mohammad ElBaradei, is to ensure that Iraq disarms peacefully and that the "regime change" in the country is accomplished with the Iraqi President, Saddam Hussein, agreeing to go into exile, possibly in Libya.

Libya's role in achieving a breakthrough is acquiring increasing importance with the Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, reportedly announcing on Friday that he had sought the Libyan leader, Muammar Gadhafi's mediation for averting a military strike against Iraq.

Mr. Gadhafi also paid a surprise visit to Egypt where he joined discussions with the Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak, the Syrian President, Bashar Al Assad, and the Saudi Foreign Minister, Saud Al Faisal.

Sunday's meeting follows intense Euro-Arab diplomacy that includes a visit by the European Union's External Affairs Commissioner, Chris Patten, to Iran and Turkey. George Papandreou, Foreign Minister of Greece, current EU chairman, also visited Damascus and Lebanon in the last one week.

Iraq's Foreign Minister, Naji Sabri, arrived in Teheran today to meet his counterpart, Kemal Kharrazi, who has returned from London after holding talks with the British Foreign Secretary,

Jack Straw. Seeking more time to persuade Mr. Hussein to choose exile, the Arab countries are expected to welcome a new U.N. resolution by France and Germany that seeks to disarm Iraq by increasing the strength of the inspection team threefold and positioning U.N. peacekeepers in Iraq. While the exile idea has not cut much ice with Washington or London, the two have not rejected it either. In fact, a new U.N. Security Council resolution that Britain could introduce after February 14, in case Mr. Blix gives a negative report, is expected to give a 48-hour notice to Mr. Hussein to leave Baghdad or face war.

Meanwhile, in a possible setback to the U.S. war plans, activists of the Kurdish Ansar al Islam, cited recently by the U.S. Secretary of State, Colin Powell, in the context of Iraq-al-Qaeda links, have allegedly assassinated three top commanders of the pro-U.S. Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). Cadres of the PUK are expected to play a major role in the northern offensive against Iraq, in case of a war.

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