Iraqi Vice President Tarek al- Hashemi arrived in Damascus on Monday on an official visit at the invitation of his Syrian counterpart Farouk al-Shara, the official SANA news agency reported.

Hashemi would hold talks with senior Syrian officials on the latest developments in the region, particularly the situation in Iraq and bilateral relations, the report said.

The visit came just days before the highly-anticipated conference in Baghdad which would host Iraq's neighboring countries, including Syria and Iran, and other world powers on March 10 in a bid to rally support to stabilize the war-wracked country.

Damascus and Baghdad restored diplomatic ties last November after a quarter-century's rupture. Senior Iraqi officials have paid several visits to Damascus ever since.

In January, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani paid a landmark visit here in which he signed a joint statement with his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad on improving bilateral relations in all fields.

The two countries severed diplomatic relations in the 1980s when Syria sided with Tehran during the 8-year Iran-Iraq war.

Damascus has been accused of doing too little to stop militants and weapons from infiltrating into Iraq and inflame chaos there. But Syria has insisted that it has done its best to control the long and porous common borders.

Source: Xinhua