DAMASCUS, Syria — Iraq’s prime minister held talks Sunday with Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus in the course of the first journey of its form to the war-torn nation for the reason that 12-year battle started.
The two leaders advised reporters that they mentioned combating medication, the return of Syrian refugees and the crucial of lifting Western sanctions imposed in Syria. They additionally talked about Israel’s strikes on the war-torn nation and water shortages within the Euphrates River that cuts by means of each nations due to tasks in Turkey.
Iraq and Syria have had shut relations for years even after many Arab nations withdrew their ambassadors from Damascus and Syria’s membership within the 22-member Arab League was suspended due to the crackdown on protesters in 2011.
Assad obtained Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, who was heading a high-ranking delegation, on the presidential palace in Damascus. They mentioned mutual relations and cooperation between the 2 neighboring nations amongst different points, in line with the workplace of Syria’s president.
Al-Sudani’s workplace mentioned in an announcement that talks revolved round methods of increasing cooperation within the fields of commerce, financial system, transportation, tourism, the way to fight local weather change and collaboration to combat terrorism.
Security cooperation in opposition to extremist teams was prone to prime the agenda for the two-day go to. The two nations, the place Iran enjoys large affect, have a joint 373-mile border. In June 2014, the Islamic State group declared the institution of a self-styled “caliphate,” a standard mannequin of Islamic rule, in large areas underneath its management in Iraq and Syria.
After a yearslong marketing campaign that left tens of 1000’s useless in each nations, IS was defeated in Iraq in 2017 and in March 2019 in Syria. In latest years, Syrian authorities forces regained management of a lot of Syria with the assistance of Russia and Iran.
Earlier this 12 months, Syria’s membership within the Arab League was reinstated and Assad attended the Arab summit that was held in Saudi Arabia in May.
Assad referred to Turkey with out naming it as being behind the “theft” of Iraq and Syria’s shares within the Eurphrates River in what’s affecting agriculture in each nations. Assad additionally mentioned that they mentioned cooperating on combating medication, a scourge he mentioned is “no different from terrorism as it can destroy the society the way terrorism does.”
Syria’s battle that began in March 2011 has killed half one million folks and displaced half the nation’s pre-war inhabitants of 23 million, together with greater than 5 million who’re refugees.
“We are interested in working through official and government channels to solve the issue of refugees and guarantee a safe return for them as soon as the situation becomes stable in places where they reside,” al-Sudani mentioned. Iraq is internet hosting about 250,000 Syrian refugees.
Al-Sudani was invited to go to Damascus throughout a visit by Syria’s Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad to Baghdad final month.
The Iraqi prime minister mentioned nations all over the world which have residents in Syria’s al-Hol camp, residence to tens of 1000’s of largely ladies and youngsters linked to IS, ought to begin engaged on repatriating them as Baghdad is doing.
Al-Hol camp in northeast Syria close to the Iraqi border holds about 51,000 folks, together with the wives, widows and different members of the family of IS militants. Most are Syrians and Iraqis. But there are additionally round 8,000 ladies and youngsters from 60 different nationalities who reside in part of the camp often called the Annex. They are usually thought-about essentially the most die-hard IS supporters among the many camp residents.
Many nations are refusing to repatriate their residents out of concern that they is likely to be a safety risk. Iraq has repatriated a whole lot of households over the previous months the place they bear rehabilitation packages.
The U.S. has a presence in each Syria and Iraq and Syrian officers have been calling for the withdrawal of American troops from the nation who first arrived in 2015.
On any given day there are not less than 900 U.S. forces in Syria, together with an undisclosed variety of contractors trying to stop the resurgence of the Islamic State group. U.S. particular operations forces additionally transfer in and in another country however are normally in small groups and will not be included within the official rely.
U.S.-led coalition forces have formally ended their fight mission in Iraq, however proceed to play an advisory position to Iraqi forces within the combat in opposition to the Islamic State extremist group.
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Zeyad reported from Baghdad. Associated Press author Bassem Mroue contributed from Beirut.
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