By Xinhua
Helsinki : Representatives of Iraq’s Shia and Sunni Muslim groups will meet in Finland late next week to negotiate ways to defuse factional fighting in the war-torn country, Finnish daily Helsingin Sanomat reported Wednesday.
The report said the meeting would be hosted in part by the Crisis Management Initiative (CMI), a non-profit organization founded by former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari. It also said the Iraqi government was not involved in the process.
The newspaper quoted the CMI as saying that key influential figures were expected to attend, but gave no names of the mediators or the venue of the meeting.
The report also quoted the Finnish foreign ministry as saying that the government was prepared to support the CMI in organizing the meeting although it was not involved in the talks.
Tensions and tit-for-tat attacks between Sunnis and Shias have driven Iraq to the brink of civil war.