By Sue Pleming and Ulf Laessing
KUWAIT (Reuters) - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Malikichided neighbouring states on Tuesday for not beefing up tieswith Baghdad or writing off Iraq's debts now that SaddamHussein is gone and Iraq is no longer a threat to the region.
Maliki, speaking at a meeting in Kuwait of foreignministers from the region and Western powers, did not name anycountries but his remarks appeared aimed at Sunni Arab statesthat have only low-level ties with his Shi'ite-led government.
He said Iraq was now a vastly different country from thatunder Saddam, who ruled Iraq with an iron fist for decadesuntil his ouster in 2003 by U.S.-led forces.
"Iraq today is different from the previous Iraq whichassaulted its neighbours. Iraq ... is ready to play aconstructive role in security and stability in the region,"Maliki said at the start of the meeting.
He urged neighbouring states to open embassies in Baghdad.
"It's difficult for us to explain why diplomatic ties havenot been resumed with Iraq. Many other foreign countries havekept diplomatic missions in Baghdad regardless of securityconsiderations," Maliki said.
No ambassador from a Sunni Arab nation has been stationedpermanently in Baghdad since Egypt's envoy was kidnapped andkilled shortly after arriving in 2005. Visits by top officialsfrom Arab states, which have been reluctant to extend fulllegitimacy to Iraq's U.S.-backed government, are also rare.
By comparison, Iraq has growing ties with non-Arab Iran.
Promises have been made by Saudi Arabia and Bahrain to openup embassies in Baghdad and the U.S. hope is that if Riyadhannounces firm plans and dates then others will follow.
The Kuwait meeting is a follow-on from gatherings of Iraq'sneighbours as well as permanent members of the U.N. SecurityCouncil that were held in Turkey and Egypt last year.
Maliki said Iraq had made great strides since then.
RICE SEEKS DEBT RELIEF
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who is at themeeting, has said she would push hard for Arab neighbours to"meet their obligations" and step up financial and diplomaticsupport that has not been forthcoming since the 2003 invasion.
About $66.5 billion of Iraq's $120.2 billion foreign debthas been forgiven, according to State Department estimates. Ofthe estimated $56 billion to $80 billion debt that remains,more than half is owed to Gulf countries, the department said.
Maliki said Iraq was still waiting for debt relief.
But Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said the Emirof Kuwait, Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, had agreed to createcommittees to study the question of reducing Iraq'scompensation payments imposed after the 1991 Gulf War.
Under U.N.-imposed peace terms after the Gulf War, Iraqmust pay 5 percent of oil income to its smaller neighbour ascompensation for invading and annexing Kuwait in 1990.
Maliki also urged neighbouring countries to make moreeffort to prevent militants crossing into Iraq.
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem said in a speechthat U.S. forces needed to leave Iraq to allow the "completeindependence and sovereignty" of Iraq. Syria had made somesuggestions on improving border security, he added.
Iraq's recent attempts to crush Shi'ite militias is also acentral topic at the meeting and Maliki is expected to urgeArab countries to back those efforts.
A draft of a statement to be issued on Tuesday at themeeting said participants "welcome the Iraqi government'scommitment to disarm and dismantle all militias and illegallyarmed groups, enforcing the rule of law, and ensuring thestate's monopoly on armed forces."
The statement, obtained by Reuters, also urged the"maintaining or opening of diplomatic missions in Iraq".
The two previous meetings of Iraq's neighbours in Egypt andTurkey last year were dominated by tensions between the UnitedStates and Iran, which Washington accuses of stirring upviolence in Iraq. Tehran denies the charges.
At a group photo at the meeting's start, Rice was in thefront row, four places away from Iran's Foreign MinisterManouchehr Mottaki. U.S. officials said they did not interact.
(Additional reporting by Rania El Gamal; Writing by DeanYates in Baghdad, editing by Samia Nakhoul)