BAGHDAD — In an attempt to establish a new Sunni political reference, Turkey, backed by Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and the United States, hosted closed meetings for Iraqi Sunni figures March 8. Held over two days, the meetings discussed the political road map for post-Islamic State (IS) Iraq.

Participants in the conference included Vice President Osama al-Nujaifi, the leader of the Mutahidoun bloc; former Finance Minister Rafi al-Issawi; former Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq; the leader of the Iraqi Islamic Party Ayad al-Samarrai; Planning Minister Salman al-Jumaili; the leader of the Arab Project Khamis al-Khanjar; former Ninevah Gov. Atheel al-Nujaifi; the head of the Forces Alliance parliamentary bloc Ahmad al-Massari; the head of the “Solution” parliamentary bloc Mohammad al-Karbouli; Association of Muslim Scholars Secretary-General Muthanna al-Dhari; and a number of lawmakers, tribal leaders and clerics.

However, the participants failed to reach a clear position on contentious issues, especially the national and federal reconciliation project and the agreement on forming a new political bloc to run for the upcoming elections. The Ankara conference seemed to only create a new Sunni division and prompted a fierce reaction from Shiite factions who went as far as to accuse the conference participants of treason.

Mutahidoun bloc member Mutashar al-Samarrai told Al-Monitor, “The five countries sponsoring the conference wished to bring the views of the Sunni parties closer on certain issues such as post-IS national restructuring and reconstruction of liberated areas. The participants agreed on the formation of a committee of 25 Sunni figures whose mission is to formulate a unified Sunni stance on political settlement. However, we did not discuss the formation of a new electoral bloc or the regionalization of the country.”