Syria Today | Iraqi powerbrokers sit down in Damascus as Turkish FM drops in

Iraqi powerbrokers sit down in Damascus as Turkish FM drops in

Damascus served as neutral ground last month for a flurry of diplomatic activity involving the Syrian president, Iraqi powerbrokers Muqtada al-Sadr and Ayad Allawi and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

The Iraqis met in Damascus at the invitation of President Bashar al-Assad in a bid to end the impasse to forming a government since their country's national elections five months ago. Sadr, a high-profile Shi'ite cleric who once led an uprising against the US occupation of his country and its then US-appointed government headed by Allawi, arrived first in the Syrian capital on July 17 and met individually with Assad.

Allawi, who arrived on July 19, was appointed as Iraq's prime minister after the US forced former president Saddam Hussein from power in 2003. He is now leader of the Iraqi National Movement, the secular and Sunni-majority coalition that won the recent election by a small margin. His party secured 91 parliament seats, while Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's Shi'ite-led State of Law coalition won 89 seats. Both parties are jockeying to form the largest parliamentary bloc and, subsequently, the ability to form the next government.

The meeting between Allawi and Sadr, who presently resides in Iran, took place on July 20. Although few specifics on what came out of the meeting were released, the pair agreed that a cabinet must be formed quickly and regardless of its party makeup, the governing body must improve key services for Iraqi citizens – namely security, infrastructure and financial resources for families devastated by the seven-year war, Syria's state-run news agency SANA reported.

Critically, both also agreed that Maliki must not be able to extend his term as prime minister.

Such a deal could seriously undermine Maliki. His State of Law coalition has already entered into a grand alliance with Sadr's group, in conjunction with the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, in an effort designed to give him the largest parliamentary bloc. That alliance, however, appears to have been fatally undermined by Maliki's insistence that he retain his position as prime minister.

Other Iraqi leaders to visit Damascus during the post-election period included Vice President Adel Abdul-Mahdi, Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq leader Ammar al-Hakim and Iraqi Accord Front Chairman Ayad al-Samarrai.

The talks in Damascus represent a new drive by Syria, Turkey and Iran to break the logjam currently paralysing Baghdad politics. Both Allawi and Sadr met with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, who travelled to Damascus for a meeting with President Assad on July 19.

Assad and Davutoglu called for an international investigation into the May 31 Israeli attack on an aid flotilla attempting to break the Gaza blockade. During his one-day visit, Davutoglu also met with Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal.