By Mohammed Abbas
MANAMA (Reuters) - In a rare public spat among Gulf Arab countries, Qatar indicated on Saturday that Iraq had not been invited to a regional summit of mainly Sunni Muslim-ruled Gulf states because of Baghdad's treatment of Sunnis.
In front of hundreds of delegates at a security summit in Bahrain Iraq's national security adviser, Mowaffaq al-Rubaie, asked Qatar's prime minister why non-Arab Turkey and Shi'ite Iran were invited to last week's Doha Gulf summit, but not Iraq.
"I thought it was unfair, to say the least, in discussing the security of the region without Iraq's presence," Rubaie told Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr al-Thani, who was on stage after giving a speech on regional security.
Sheikh Hamad responded by saying Turkey and Iran had asked to join the summit, confirming speculation that the Islamic Republic had used the meeting as a platform to showcase its growing influence in a largely Sunni region.
He said Iraq was too fragmented to take part in the annual summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council, comprising Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman.
"Iraq, yes it's a very important country and they should be part of the dialogue that's happening in the GCC and the region. But there are two problems facing us," Sheikh Hamad said.
"We need a strong Iraq... to be frank with you the unity in Iraq is still not there," he said. "Some parties feel that they are not being taken as a full citizen."
Political tensions have escalated in Iraq, where a sectarian split between Sunni and Shi'ite politicians has paralyzed parliament. Sunni Arab politicians say they do not have a fair share of influence over decisions and accuse the Shi'ite-led government of corruption and discrimination.
Shi'ites, who are in the majority in Iraq but suffered discrimination under Saddam Hussein, deny such accusations.
(Editing by Tim Pearce)
