Iraq, Syria restore diplomatic ties

Iraq and Syria announced on Tuesday that they signed an agreement to restore complete diplomatic ties.

"A little while ago we signed an agreement to restore full diplomatic ties with Syria," Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiar al- Zebari told reporters at a joint news conference with visiting Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem.

The two countries agreed on naming their ambassadors and raising the Iraqi flag in Damascus and the Syrian one in Baghdad, al-Zebari said.

The agreement also included security cooperation between the two countries, he said.

"There was an agreement to hold meetings between security officials from both countries in addition to developing commercial relations," he said.

The two countries had severed their diplomatic ties for more than two decades in the regime of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

On Sunday, al-Muallem called for a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S.-led troops, saying it would bring "stability for Iraq"

during a news conference after his previous meeting with al-Zebari.

He also urged Iraqis to work to rebuild unity, saying Syria " will back the country's political process and is ready to offer all help required in maintaining the unity of Iraq."

Al-Muallem also met Sunday with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al- Maliki on a range of issues, including U.S. charges that Syria has failed to prevent militants from crossing the border into Iraq to fuel insurgency.

U.S. and Iraqi officials have long accused Damascus of doing little to stem the flow of Islamist fighters and weapons across its long border with Iraq. Syria has denied the accusation, saying that sealing the border is impossible and Iraq must do more to patrol its side.

Al-Muallem, who arrived in Baghdad Sunday afternoon, is the highest ranking Syrian official to visit Iraq since the U.S.-led war on Iraq in 2003.

Source: Xinhua