The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Kuwait City

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice held closed-door talks in Kuwait late Monday as she intensified efforts to persuade Sunni-led Arab allies to back Iraq's Shiite leadership.

Rice failed to clinch any firm Arab pledges on debt relief or diplomatic presence at talks in Bahrain earlier on Monday but took her campaign to Kuwait for a meeting Tuesday with Iraq, Arab states, Turkey, Iran and world powers.

Speaking after a meeting in Bahrain with counterparts from six Gulf monarchies, Egypt, Jordan and Iraq, Rice said the talks covered relieving Iraq debt and sending ambassadors to the war-torn nation.

But she did not report any decision on either score.

"I do believe it's a process which will move forward," Rice told reporters after the meeting, which came one day after she made a surprise visit to Baghdad. "A number of countries around the table talked about their desire to have permanent representatives" in Baghdad, she said. "The terms of debt relief have long been known. It's just a matter of getting the negotiations done," Rice added.

Gulf states, especially OPEC members Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, agreed several years ago to forgive a substantial part of Iraqi debt, estimated to total tens of billions of dollars.