Ankara, September 18: Foreign ministers of Syria and Iraq have met in Istanbul, at the mediation of Turkey, to resolve a diplomatic feud between their respective countries over militant attacks in Baghdad.
The Thursday meeting held at Istanbul’s Ottoman-era Ciragan Palace was attended by Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Mualem as well as the Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa.
Baghdad accuses Damascus of sheltering militants it blames for a string of bombings on Iraqi soil, including two huge truck bombs outside government ministries that killed 95 people last month. Following the accusations, both countries recalled their ambassadors.
Ankara appealed for confidence-building measures and concrete steps on the diplomatic and security front. Details of the Thursday meeting were not made public.
Davutoglu said that Turkey as well as the Arab League appear to have some confidence building measures, ‘especially regarding media statements and also to take some concrete steps’ to resolve their differences and prevent any future terrorist attacks in the region.
He added that any purchase of Patriot missiles from the United States was solely aimed at modernizing the country’s defense and not due to a particular threat from it neighbors.
The Turkish foreign minister was referring to reports that Ankara had ordered 13 Patriot ‘fire units’, 72 Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missiles and a range of associated hardware for ground-based air defense. However, Turkey has not publicly confirmed the deal.
—–Agencies