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| Iraq and Syria restore relations | Iraq and Syria restore relations |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| Syria and Iraq are to restore diplomatic relations, after a break of more than 20 years. | Syria and Iraq are to restore diplomatic relations, after a break of more than 20 years. |
| Agreement on restoring all diplomatic ties was announced in Baghdad by Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari and his Syrian counterpart Walid Muallim. | Agreement on restoring all diplomatic ties was announced in Baghdad by Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari and his Syrian counterpart Walid Muallim. |
| Correspondents say Iraq hopes the move will help to stem a flow of militants across the border with Syria. | |
| Relations were severed in 1982, during Saddam Hussein's rule and soon after the beginning of the Iran-Iraq war. | |
| Syria and Iraq were governed by competing branches of the pan-Arab Baathist movement, and ties have been largely antagonistic. | Syria and Iraq were governed by competing branches of the pan-Arab Baathist movement, and ties have been largely antagonistic. |
| Mr Muallim, who has been in Baghdad since Sunday, is the highest-ranking Syrian official to visit Iraq since the US-led invasion in 2003. | Mr Muallim, who has been in Baghdad since Sunday, is the highest-ranking Syrian official to visit Iraq since the US-led invasion in 2003. |
| The move comes as efforts to involve Iran and Syria in stabilising Iraq appeared to be gaining momentum. | The move comes as efforts to involve Iran and Syria in stabilising Iraq appeared to be gaining momentum. |
| Earlier, the Iraqi president, Jalal Talabani, accepted an invitation to go to Iran on Saturday. | Earlier, the Iraqi president, Jalal Talabani, accepted an invitation to go to Iran on Saturday. |
| There are reports that the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, may also go to Iran, but there has been no confirmation from Damascus. | There are reports that the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, may also go to Iran, but there has been no confirmation from Damascus. |
| The US administration gave a cautious welcome to news that the Iraqi president would be visiting Iran, but analysts say the US government has been more amenable to regional diplomacy since heavy losses for President George W Bush in 7 November mid-term elections. | The US administration gave a cautious welcome to news that the Iraqi president would be visiting Iran, but analysts say the US government has been more amenable to regional diplomacy since heavy losses for President George W Bush in 7 November mid-term elections. |
| A proposal that Washington talk directly to Syria and Iran about helping to reduce the violence in Iraq is being widely discussed. | A proposal that Washington talk directly to Syria and Iran about helping to reduce the violence in Iraq is being widely discussed. |