Baghdad - Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zibari on Friday
said there was a possibility for Iraqi-Syrian relations to get back
to normal.
The two countries could overcome the crisis that was sparked off
after a United States military raid on a Syrian village last month,
he said.
'The raid has led to straining (of) bilateral relations, but the
position of the (Iraqi) Cabinet was clear in rejecting the raid and
demanding cooperation between the security services of both countries
to combat infiltration,' Zibari told the pro-government al-Iraqia TV
channel in an interview.
'We made our position clear to the Syrian side and we were able to
contain the matter. Mutual visits and meetings might be resumed soon
to address outstanding issues between the two countries,' the
minister said.
'We will not present (am) immediate remedy to these issues. Our
mission is to reduce the tension between the two countries,' he
added.
Dubai-based al-Arabiya news channel reported November 1 that
Syria had frozen ties with Iraq following the cross-border attack.
It said the Iraqi charge d'affaires had been summoned to the
Syrian Foreign Ministry in Damascus and told that economic
cooperation was being frozen, as was cooperation between security
services.
'Iraqi-Syrian relations will be on the right track soon as there
are good and positive signs from both sides to overcome this crisis,'
said the Iraqi foreign minister.
Syria said that four helicopters attacked a building near its
border with Iraq, killing eight people. Washington has not formally
acknowledged the raid, but US officials say the target was a top al-
Qaeda figure in Iraq.
USA
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