LONDON: As the US fights an uphill battle to win support for an invasion of Iraq, Baghdad has been quietly gathering declarations of sympathy — if not outright support — in the Middle East and beyond.

Its foreign minister, Naji Sabri, has been visiting any country willing to talk to him. In the past month he has met the King of Jordan, plus ministers of Iran, Algeria and Syria.

For anyone who would like a trade deal, some cheap oil, or just the settling of old quarrels, now is the time to ask.

Despite the sanctions, Iraq now has near-normal relations with many of its neighbours. Even its relations with Kuwait have thawed a little.

Saudi Arabia, which helped to fund the 1991 war against Iraq, has reportedly been offered a free-trade agreement and preferential treatment in bidding for contracts.

“Our relations with our brothers in the Gulf region are good,” Mr Sabri told an Arab newspaper this year. “We have direct political and economic relations with Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and the United Arab Emirates, and trade relations with Saudi Arabia, and these relations are continuously growing.”

The political benefits were seen at the Beirut summit in March when Arab leaders rejected “threats of aggression” against Iraq, called for the lifting of sanctions and urged everyone to respect Iraq’s independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and regional safety.

These words are reiterated in official statements throughout the Arab world, though what they represent tangible support is another matter.

Iraq has exaggerated the importance of some of its deals. A free-trade agreement last year with Egypt was claimed to be worth US dollars 1.7bn a year, mostly in Egyptian exports, but this is not credible, Wahid Abdel-Meguid of al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies in Cairo said.

“Egypt’s total exports are barely close to US dollars 4bn and there is no way that Iraqi statements on up to US dollars 2bn of Egyptian exports to Iraq could be true.” Before George Bush was elected in 2000, when many expected that sanctions might fizzle out or be lifted, Iraq could offer trade deals within the UN’s oil-for-food programme and regard them a carrot to encourage other countries to support the lifting of sanctions. But it is doubtful that trade deals and words of support will offer much protection against an invasion.

“In closed rooms, all Arab governments tell the Americans that they would not oppose a strike that would lead to Saddam’s removal,” Mr Abdel-Meguid said.

Qatar — historically sympathetic towards Iraq — continues to oppose a war, officially, but its statements are becoming more hedged.

“If Washington ever approaches Qatar to participate in a war against Iraq, we [Qatari officials] would want to know the real objectives of the war and to have solid assurances that Iraq’s unity would be maintained and no chaos would result,” its minister of state for foreign affairs, Ahmad Abdullah al-Mahmood, said last month.

Qatar knows that its people side with Iraq, but the US has an air base at al-Udeid which is designed to provide shelter against biological and chemical attacks and has a 4,500-metre runway — one of the longest in the Middle East.

There are reports that it may take over some of the functions of the Prince Sultan air base which Saudi Arabia says cannot be used to attack Iraq.

Qatar thus faces a serious dilemma which will have to be resolved if and when the US asks formally to use its territory. The US was the first country to recognise the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa, when he took power in a bloodless coup seven years ago. This pattern is repeated throughout the Arab world where leaders have been vocal in their criticism of American war plans but are quietly hedging their bets. Even if they cannot afford to publicly back a war on Iraq, their long-term interests lie in having good relations with the US.

King Abdullah of Jordan has made clear his opposition to war, despite persistent reports that Jordan is likely to be used by US forces, but many suspect that, having demonstrated that he has done his utmost to avoid it, he will throw in his lot with Washington.

There are even question marks over Iran. Iraq is said to have sent a delegation to Tehran last month led by Saddam Hussein’s son, Qusay. According to Iranian reformist websites, he sought the return of planes Iraq sent there for safekeeping at the beginning of the Gulf war. He is also said to have tried to buy weapons.

But it seems that Iran, stung by the American complaints, is anxious to keep its distance from Baghdad and rebuffed the requests. Turkey says it is trying to convince Washington to give up the war but may be more interested in having a say in what happens to the Kurdish areas of Iraq post-Saddam.—Dawn/The Guardian News Service.