AP's Baghdad bureau chief: Iraq's role is crystallizing at the Baghdad International Conference

The director of the Associated Press (AP) bureau in Baghdad, Qassim Abdul-Zahra, said that the seventh Baghdad International Dialogue conference comes at a very sensitive regional context, in light of developments in the Middle East, especially the ongoing war in Gaza and Lebanon, and the political changes in Syria.

The presence of a large number of researchers and former diplomats gives the conference special importance, Abdul-Zahra said in a statement to the Iraqi Institute for Dialogue website, noting that "such events provide an opportunity to convey a realistic picture of Iraq's role and position in the midst of regional crises."

"We cannot say that the conference will provide direct solutions to the political and security crises facing Iraq and the region, but it certainly contributes to crystallizing a clearer vision of what Iraq is planning and what it can offer," he said, noting that conveying the true picture of what is happening in the region from Baghdad is a gain in itself.