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Foreign Minister Westerwelle calls National Dialogue in Iraq indispensable
Currently on a visit to Canada, Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle today discussed the situation in Iraq and the danger of the Syrian conflict spilling across the region in a telephone call with Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari. He issued the following statement after the conversation:
The major, brutal attacks that have shaken Iraq in recent days and weeks demonstrate the remorselessly callous way in which the opponents of democracy operate. The forces which seek to use violence to halt the progress being made in democratization must not prevail.
It remains indispensable to Iraq’s development that all sections of society be engaged in an honest and credible National Dialogue.
Foreign Minister Westerwelle highlighted the particular responsibility that Iraq has, as Syria’s immediate neighbour, to help prevent the conflict in Syria from spilling out into the region. He underlined the key importance of the international Syria Conference currently being planned, saying it would provide an opportunity to get the political process under way.
