Haitham Haddadin, Reuters

KUWAIT, 16 February 2004 — Iraq and its six neighbors called at the end of a Kuwait summit yesterday for a central postwar role for the United Nations in Iraq, including supervision of elections and of transfer of power to Iraqis.

In a final statement, they also expressed fears of a spillover of violence besetting Iraq. It was vital, they said, to eliminate “all terrorist and other armed groups from Iraqi territory that constitute a danger for the neighboring states.”

Iraq, represented by the US-backed governing council at the two-day meeting, had demanded its neighbors take “decisive measures” to impose tight security to stop cross-border infiltration by foreign guerrillas fighting US forces.

But the statement only referred to the need to support “the effort made by Iraq toward achieving security and stability.”

Iraq and its neighbors also re-affirmed “the importance of enhancing the role of the UN so that it can assume its central responsibilities throughout the transitional process in Iraq.”

The statement said these responsibilities include “preparing the ground for the withdrawal of occupying powers as soon as possible, and providing advice and technical expertise for formulating the constitution, holding elections, and expediting the transfer of power.”

“This is a very important date,” Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Muhammad Al-Sabah told a news conference, referring to the June 30 handover deadline. “We want power to be transferred by this date.”

The United States plans to hand over power to an interim Iraqi administration, chosen by a system of caucuses, by that date. But Iraq’s Shiite leaders are demanding popular elections before any handover.

Washington, seeking to speed the process, is eager to revive United Nations involvement. The UN withdrew its international staff from Baghdad last year after suffering two bomb attacks.

A visiting UN delegation said last week time was short and it would be difficult to hold popular elections ahead of the planned handover. But Iraq’s neighbors would welcome the quick replacement of United States presence by what many would see as a less controversial UN involvement in the handover, in polls and in other post-handover arrangements.

The Iraqi Governing Council sent its Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari to the talks with six neighboring states — Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Syria, Iran, Turkey and Jordan — for the first time on Saturday, overcoming differences which kept him away from similar discussions last year.