The 2 leaders mentioned they mentioned the battle in opposition to medicine, the return of refugees and the lifting of Western sanctions imposed on Syria.
Iraq’s prime minister held talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus in the course of the first such journey to the war-torn nation for the reason that 12-year-old battle started.
Iraq and Syria have maintained shut relations for years, even after a number of Arab nations withdrew their ambassadors from Damascus, and Syria was suspended from the 22-nation Arab League as a result of brutal crackdown on protesters in 2011.
Assad acquired Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani, who was heading a high-ranking delegation, on the presidential palace in Damascus on Sunday.
The 2 leaders later advised reporters that they mentioned combating cross-border drug trafficking, the return of Syrian refugees, and the necessity to carry punitive Western sanctions in opposition to Syria.
Additionally they spoke of Israeli assaults on the war-torn nation and water shortages within the Euphrates River that runs by way of the 2 nations, as a result of building of dams upstream in Turkey.
Al-Sudani mentioned he mentioned methods to fight drought situations in each nations as a result of low rainfall, local weather change and the erection of dams upstream by Turkey.
“We have to cooperate to get our justifiable share of water,” mentioned Al-Sudani.
Al-Sudani’s workplace mentioned the talks additionally handled cooperate to fight “terrorism”.
“We face many challenges, at first terrorism,” Assad mentioned later in a joint press convention with Al-Sudani.
The 2 nations, the place Iran wields in depth affect, have a typical border of 600 km (373 miles).
In June 2014, the armed group ISIS introduced the creation of a so-called caliphate in giant areas underneath its management in Iraq and Syria.
After a years-long marketing campaign that left tens of 1000’s lifeless in each nations, ISIS was defeated in Iraq in 2017 and in March 2019 in Syria. Lately, Syrian authorities forces have regained management of a lot of Syria with the assistance of Russia and Iran.
Earlier this yr, Syria’s membership within the Arab League was reinstated and Assad attended the Arab summit held in Saudi Arabia in Could.
Mahmoud Abdel Wahed, Al-Jazeera correspondent from Baghdad, mentioned: “The significance of this go to lies in the truth that each leaders appear eager to construct on the momentum of this go to, to interrupt the isolation that nations have been affected by for years within the area.”
Iraq has been a serious supporter of Syria. I supported Syria’s return to the Arab League. Iraq additionally referred to as on the worldwide neighborhood to carry the sanctions imposed on Syria, in addition to to facilitate the entry of support to the Syrian folks.
The battle in Syria, which started in March 2011, has killed half one million folks and displaced half of the nation’s pre-war inhabitants of 23 million, together with greater than 5 million who’ve develop into refugees.
Iraq hosts about 250,000 Syrian refugees.
“We’re enthusiastic about working by way of official and governmental channels to resolve the refugee problem and guarantee a secure return for them as soon as situations stabilize within the locations the place they reside,” Al-Sudani mentioned.
Al-Sudani was invited to go to Damascus throughout a go to by Syrian Overseas Minister Faisal Al-Miqdad to Baghdad final month.
The Iraqi prime minister mentioned that nations around the globe which have residents within the al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria ought to begin working to convey them house as Baghdad is doing.
Al-Hol camp is house to about 51,000 folks, together with wives, widows, and different kinfolk of ISIS members. Most of them are Syrians and Iraqis, however there are about 8,000 girls and kids of 60 different nationalities dwelling in part of the camp often known as the annex. They’re typically thought of essentially the most hardline ISIS supporters among the many camp residents. Many nations refuse to take again their residents, fearing that they may pose a safety risk.
#Sudanese #Iraqi #Prime #Minister #Assad #maintain #talks #Damascus