Security pacts and economic cooperation deals were the initial outcome of the Iraqi premier's Arab tour, Al-Ahram Weekly report In almost every Arab capital visited by Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, one question kept recurring: "What about the Israeli presence in Iraq?" So preoccupied are Arabs -- both on official and popular levels -- with the widely- publicised suspicion in both Arab and Western media of Israel's involvement in Iraq that Allawi and his ministers had to repeat the mantra: "Let those who so claim come and check for themselves." In Beirut on Monday, Allawi sought to calm Arab fears and suspicions that Baghdad could break ranks and normalise relations with Israel by insisting that his country would not do so before other Arabs. "Future relations with Israel are determined by two issues: international resolutions and a just and comprehensive peace that has been adopted by Arab leadership, including the Palestinian leadership. Iraq will not take any unilateral action on a settlement with Israel outside those two frameworks," Allawi told reporters. This concern, however, was the last item on Allawi's agenda during his first Arab tour since he took office as Iraq's interim premier two months ago. The Iraqi premier wanted to address two more pressing issues: security and the Iraqi money and assets frozen in Arab banks in Syria and Lebanon. This week, Allawi and six Iraqi ministers held talks with the leaders of Syria, Lebanon and Kuwait. Although his tour was overshadowed by the deteriorating security situation in Iraq and the spiral of abduction of foreigners, Allawi aggressively pursued talks on security issues. Iraqi observers assessing the outcome of Allawi's talks with Syrian officials believe that a major breakthrough has taken place in the relationship between the two countries. In an interview with Al-Arabiya television on Monday, Allawi stated his goals for the visit. "I want to build strategic and long-term ties between Iraq and the rest of the Arab world," he said. To this end, Allawi has secured important agreements both on diplomatic and security fronts. The two countries will resume diplomatic ties for the first time in 24 years. A joint committee to study security matters will be formed, with pledges that Syria will do everything in its power to achieve security and stability in Iraq. In another move, which was seen as an attempt by Syria to soften its previously hostile attitude towards Allawi's government, Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk Al- Shara told reporters on Tuesday that, according to UN resolutions, the Iraqi interim government is legitimate. Iraqi analyst Wamidh Nadhmi believes that Syria and other Arab countries have decided to deal with the Iraqi interim government as a de facto rather than a de jure government. "The Arab governments have decided to transcend the issue of whether the government is legitimate or not. But the government should also prove that it is acting independently of the Americans," Nadhmi said. Syrian sources told the Weekly that the Syrian government was ready to set up any mechanism the Iraqi premier thought helpful in manning the 600km border between the two countries. According to Syrian sources, Damascus' readiness to strike a security agreement with Allawi was also an attempt to close the door in the face of repeated accusations from the US that Syria is responsible for the infiltration of fighters into Iraq. Another point of contention was the frozen Iraqi funds in Syrian banks, which the Iraqi government has sought to release. Iraqi sources said the figure stood between $800 million and $1 billion, including funds that belong to former officials of the Iraqi regime. Another important agreement was signed to export oil to Syria. Despite such positive steps, Syrian officials still remain sceptical and fear that such agreements might be short-lived. These officials strongly suspect that Iraq's most pressing problems mainly stem from the presence of hundreds of thousands of foreign troops on Iraqi soil. Syria repeatedly stated it would continue to support all efforts which aim at putting an end to the occupation and restore full sovereignty to the Iraqi people. During his visit to Lebanon, Allawi was challenged by many questions about whether his government should set a timeline for the foreign troops to leave Iraq. Allawi said that the presence of foreign troops was necessary until Iraq was able to rebuild its security forces and that, therefore, it was not the right time to ask the troops to leave. Additional reporting by Dina Dakhlalah from Damascus.
