Iraq's Talabani visits Assad seeking closer ties

SYRIA: President Jalal Talabani, on the first trip to Syria by an Iraqi head of state for 30 years, met President Bashar al-Assad during a visit expected to focus on stabilising Iraq and preventing insurgents crossing their long border.

Talabani, who lived in exile in Syria in the 1970s, wants to use his six-day trip to discuss ways to stem the violence in Iraq and stop what the United States says is a flow of men and arms across the border to help the insurgency in Iraq.

The two neighbours restored diplomatic relations only last month after a breach in the 1980s when Syria, alone in the Arab world, sided with Tehran during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war. "We hope this will be a successful visit. We have a desire to develop ties in all fields," Assad told Talabani when they met at a hilltop palace overlooking the Syrian capital.

"Syria stood with us in difficult times," said Talabani, speaking in the presence of journalists. "I came here with a large delegation to show our seriousness about advancing our relations with Syria."

Talabani has said he wants Damascus to stop a flow of fighters and weapons into Iraq to join the insurgency against his government. Syria denies involvement and says it has an interest in preventing Iraq's conflict from becoming civil war. Talabani, a Kurd, founded the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan in the 1970s, when he, along with scores of other exiled opponents of then President Saddam Hussein, was living in Syria.

Fakhri Karim, a member of the Iraqi delegation who is well connected in Syria, said security would figure high in talks between Iraqi and Syrian officials.

Damascus, Monday, Reuters.