About 70 representatives of various political, ethnic and religious Iraqi groups attended the conference in Cairo.
The United Iraqi Coalition delegation led by Shiite leader Abdul Aziz al-Hakim pushed for the removing of the Iraqi Resistance movement from the document, which was drawn up by a special committee led by Arab League Secretary General Amro Moussa.
The delegation from the Committee of Ulemas led by Shiite leader Muthanna Harith Al-Dari said that the text of the declaration had already been agreed by all parties at the meeting, and if the Iraqi Resistance were not mentioned, all forces opposing the occupation would walk out of the talks.
However, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry said some level of agreement had been reached at the talks and that the Iraq National Reconciliation Conference would be held in Baghdad at the end of February or the beginning of March. One of the points on the talk's agenda will be the timetable for the withdrawal of foreign forces from Iraq.
Iraqi Premier Ibrahim al-Jaafari said Monday that this issue depends on the security situation and the development of an Iraqi military, and that in certain provinces, Iraqis are already replacing foreign troops.
