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| Iraq-Jordan | ||
| Syria PM meets Iraqi ministers, says keen on security | ||
| 2005-06-12 | ||
US officials have repeatedly accused Syria of not doing enough to prevent militants from crossing into Iraq to fight its forces. Syria, which opposed the US-led war in Iraq, says it is cooperating for Iraq stability. "The prime minister emphasised Syria's keenness on the security and stability of Iraq and that its future is set in line with its own will and in the framework of its unity both in terms of territory and people," the official news agency said. Otari's remarks came after a meeting in Damascus with Iraqi Electricity Minister and Mohsen Shalash and Water Resources Minister Abdul Latif Rasheed. Their visit is the first announced meeting of this level between senior Syrian and Iraqi officials since July 2004 when former caretaker Prime Minister Iyad Allawi visited Damascus to discuss cooperation, especially on security. The agency said the talks focused on "cooperation between Syria and Iraq and the necessity of developing and enhancing it in a manner that achieves common interests in economy, development, water and power projects". Otari said Syria was willing to "support and respond to the needs of the brethren in Iraq and offer all forms of help required for the reconstruction of facilities and services". Syrian officials said they were waiting for Iraq to send officials to ink a security cooperation agreement discussed during Allawi's 2004 visit. Syria complains that the United States and Britain did not deliver on a promise to give the Arab state high technology systems to better monitor the desert border that straddles over around 600 km (375 miles).
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| Posted by:Steve White |