Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal of host Saudi Arabia said the closed-door talks would focus on "certain principles that would serve as the base for contacts with the international parties" that are now players in Iraq.

"We call on the occupying authority, which we hope will withdraw from Iraq as soon as possible, to quickly put in place an interim government with a view to putting in place a constitutional government," Prince Saud said in an opening address.

The Saudi minister also condemned recent US warnings to Syria, present at the conference, which he said "will only lead to a new cycle of trouble and violence in the region."

"We categorically reject the recent threats against Syria," Prince Saud said. "We call on the United States to opt for dialogue with Syria."

The United States in recent weeks has accused Syria of holding chemical weapons, smuggling military materiel into Iraq and providing safe haven to associates of toppled Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

An Arab diplomat had earlier said the Riyadh conference, due to last one day, could spill over into Saturday because of "minor differences."

They relate to the status of the Kurds in the north, Turkish demands on oil from the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk and the identity of certain figures tipped to become members of a future Iraqi government, the diplomat said.

The countries participating in the meeting are Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Turkey.

SPACE.WIRE