Iranian Defense Minister Ali Shamkhani said here Wednesday that regional countries favor a united, independent and democratic Iraq peacefully coexisting with its neighbors, the official IRNA news agency reported.

Shamkhani made the remarks at the end of the second round of talks with his Iraqi counterpart Sadun al-Dulaymi, who, heading a high-ranking delegation, arrived in Tehran on Tuesday at the official invitation of Shamkhani.

"Iran is ready to cooperate with Iraq in a bid to achieve aforesaid goals," Shamkhani was quoted as saying.

Shamkhani expressed hope that past problems would be settled through bilateral negotiations between the two countries.

"I am optimistic that a new chapter in Iran-Iraq relations would be opened based on close cooperation," the minister said.

Iran has been keeping a close watch on the developments of the Iraqi situation since the downfall of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

The two neighbors fought a disastrous war from 1980 to 1988, during which a total of more than 500,000 people were killed.

To explore bilateral cooperation in different fields, Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari is scheduled to pay an official visit to Iran on July 12.

Source: Xinhua