Rice to meet Arab allies in Abu Dhabi

ABU DHABI: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will meet Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari along with eight other Arab leaders in Abu Dhabi on Moday in a bid to persuade them to be in a “comfort zone” with Iraq’s Shiite-dominated government. The US Secretary will also discuss Iran and Lebanon at the talks.

On the condition of anonymity, a Gulf official said Iraqi foreign minister’s presence sends positive signals towards Prime Minister Nauri Al Maliki’s government after Washington had compelled Baghdad’s Sunni neighbours to recognise it.

Earlier, Rice on a visit to Ireland warned Iran to freeze its uranium enrichment programme within two weeks or face punitive measures, reports Iranian Press TV.

Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Saeed Jalili and the EU Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana, accompanied by representatives of the Group 5+1 (China, Russia, France, Britain and the US – plus Germany), held a new round of talks in Geneva on Saturday aimed at resolving Tehran's nuclear standoff.

For the first time in the standoff between Iran and the West over the issue, the US sent a high-ranking official, Under Secretary of State William Burns, to the talks.

"The meeting sent a very strong message to the Iranians that they can't go and stall ... and that they have to make a decision," Rice told reporters en route to Abu Dhabi.

"It clarifies Iran's choices and we will see what Iran does in two weeks. But I think the diplomatic process now has a kind of new energy in it," Rice added.

Rice said that in case Iran refused to suspend its nuclear work, the Security Council would go back to the track of imposing sanctions.

Meanwhile, in an interview with CNN aired on Sunday, Rice said that the US and Israel are committed to a diplomatic approach with Iran but maintained that US President George W. Bush 'keeps all options open'.

Rice claimed that the UN Security Council sanctions had damaged Iran and added that another round of sanctions against the Islamic Republic over its nuclear programme was expected.

She said that the US decision to send an envoy to Geneva to attend the nuclear talks on Saturday did not mean a ‘shift' in the US approach toward Tehran.

"I acknowledge that what we've done is to make a step that we think demonstrates to everyone our seriousness about this process," Rice said.

"What has not changed is that the United States is determined to have negotiations only when Iran has suspended its enrichment and reprocessing. That's when the United States can join," she added.