HELSINKI, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Officials from Iraq's warring Shi'ite and Sunni Arabs agreed to work toward ending sectarian violence crippling the country, a local group that organised the meeting in Finland said. "Those present agreed to a set of recommendations to start negotiations to reach national reconciliation," Crisis Management Initiative (CMI) said in a statement. "The mood was very good, but it is too early to say if CMI will take part in possible further meetings," Meeri-Maria Jaarva, CMI's director of operations said on Tuesday. Participants were not disclosed but an official from the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council (SIIC) said earlier one of its senior officials, Akram al-Hakim, attended. Hakim is a minister of state for national dialogue in the Iraqi cabinet. The official said Sunni Arab politician Saleh al-Mutlaq and a senior official from the Shi'ite Dawa party of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki were also present. Finnish national broadcaster YLE said representatives of anti-American Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr also attended. Participants agreed fighting in Iraq should end and solutions to problems found through democracy and power-sharing. An independent commission is to be formed to supervise the process of disarmament of non-governmental armed groups, the statement said. The parties also plan to work on ending international and regional interference in Iraqi affairs. The meeting was organised by CMI and the University of Massachusetts' John W. McCormack Institute. CMI is a non-governmental organisation headed by former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, who has been active in talks on Kosovo and Aceh, Indonesia, since his presidency ended.
