Iraq and Syria restore diplomatic ties

Iraq and Syria agree to restore full diplomatic relations by sending their respective ambassadors back to their posts. The two neighbours are patching up relations after a spat in 2009 when Iraq accused Syria of sheltering insurgents.

Reuters

Iraq’s foreign minister Hoshyar Zebari and his Syrian counterpart met on the sidelines at the UN General Assembly in New York. He told him his government had agreed to send back their ambassador to Damascus.

Relations between the two neighbours have warmed in recent times. Earlier this week, Iraq and Syria reached an agreement to build two pipelines linking Iraq to Mediterranean sea ports for the export of crude.

The two pipelines will have a combined capacity of 2.75 million barrels of oil per day, but projected costs and a timeline will only be set once a study has been carried out.

Overall bilateral relations between Iraq and Syria have improved since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime, which often accused Syria of trying to destabilise Iraq.

But efforts to boost post-Hussein ties were thrown into disarray last year when Baghdad accused Syria of harbouring two Baathist leaders who had plotted a devastating attack in the Iraqi capital.