Iraqi president arrives in Syria on landmark visit

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani arrived in Damascus on Sunday at the start of his landmark visit to Syria after a quarter-century's rupture between the two countries.

Talabani, who had lived in exile in Syria for years during Saddam's rein, is the country's first head of state to visit Syria in nearly three decades. The last visit was by Saddam's predecessor, Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr, in 1979.

Talabani is expected to hold talks with his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad and other senior officials on security cooperation between the two neighbors.

Talabani's visit came only days after U.S. President George W. Bush announced a new Iraqi strategy which outlines tough actions against alleged Syrian and Iranian meddling in Iraq.

Syria has been constantly accused by Washington of doing little to stop foreign fighters from infiltrating into Iraq and thus destabilizing the situation there.

Damascus denied the charges, saying that it is cooperating with Iraq on strengthening security along their border.

Syria and Iraq restored full diplomatic relations last November during a visit by Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem to Iraq, who pledged to help in securing the war-ravaged country.

Diplomatic relations between the two countries broke off in the 1980s as Damascus took the side of Tehran in the eight-year Iran- Iraq war.

Source: Xinhua