Arab states discuss Iraq's future

Arab states discuss Iraq's future

By Mike Wooldridge BBC world affairs correspondent

Saudi Arabia is hosting the meeting

Iraq's neighbours are due to meet in Saudi Arabia to discuss how the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime has affected the region.

Organised by the Saudis, it will be the first regional meeting since the war and takes place as the United States decides what happens next in Iraq.

Adjusting to the new reality in the region, as the war coalition likes to call it, is something Iraq's neighbours have mixed views about.

They may not have been on good terms with Saddam Hussein, but they are wary of the fallout from the conflict for various reasons.

Arab worries

There are concerns about the possibility of Iraq effectively becoming divided into Kurdish, Shia and Sunni zones and remaining unstable.

There are concerns too that the occupation of Iraq by US and British forces might be lengthy.

MIDDLE EAST AFTER SADDAM

The after-effects of the war for the region

Officials say the ministers may decide to give a public declaration of support to Syria, accused by the Americans of harbouring fugitive members of Saddam Hussein's regime and of developing chemical weapons.

Damascus denies doing both.

But the Riyadh meeting is also expected to discuss what kind of political relations Iraq's neighbours might have with a future Iraqi administration, and also, practical issues to do with the reconstruction of Iraq and their role in it.