Saudi Arabia yesterday emphasized its vision of an independent and unified Iraq and said it would extend $1 billion in the form of soft loans for the reconstruction of the war-torn country. Addressing an international conference here, attended by over 80 governments and international institutions, Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal said Riyadh was also ready to write off part of Iraq's debt burden. The conference backed the efforts of Baghdad's transitional government to fight terrorism, while the United States and the European Union warned Syria to stop insurgents using its territory for attacks in Iraq.The daylong meeting also resulted in international promises to help reduce Iraq's foreign debt, speed up aid deliveries and contribute to efforts to draft a new constitution. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned Syria to stop insurgents from crossing its border with Iraq. "This is a real problem for the Iraqi people ... something needs to be done," she said. "Terrorism can and will be defeated in Iraq... Our own security is dependent on defeat of terror in this great region," Rice told reporters. In his keynote address, Prince Saud stressed the importance of bringing political stability to Iraq, saying it was a "precondition for the success of this conference." He promised that Saudi Arabia would play the role of a "principal partner" in the Iraqi reconstruction process. "We have already given $300 million in humanitarian aid to the Iraqi people," the Saudi Press Agency quoted him as telling the conference.