"We are open to dialogue because we all know that, at the end of the day, the solution to the hell and the killings in Iraq is linked to an effective Iraqi national reconciliation," he said, speaking in Arabic from Washington. "The Iraqi government is convinced of this."
The question of negotiations between the United States and insurgency factions has repeatedly surfaced over the past two years, but details have been sketchy. One issue that was often raised in connection with such negotiations was the extent of amnesty the United States and its Iraqi allies were willing to offer to the insurgents if they disarmed and joined the political process.
Fernandez spoke to the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera after a man claiming to speak for Saddam Hussein's outlawed Ba'ath Party told the network the United States was seeking a face-saving exodus from Iraq and that insurgents were ready to negotiate but won't lay down arms.
"Abu Mohammed," a pseudonym for the man, appeared to set near impossible conditions for the start of any talks with the Americans, including the return to service of Hussein's armed forces, the annulment of every law adopted since Hussein's ouster, the recognition of insurgent groups as the sole representatives of the Iraqi people, and a timetable for a gradual, unconditional withdrawal of US and other foreign troops in Iraq.
