President al-Assad and Premier al-Maliki called for finding new prospects of cooperation that would enhance the brotherly relations between the Syrian and Iraqi people, and serve their common interests.
Talks during the meeting focused on the strategic dimension in the bilateral relations between the countries of the region, underlining the importance of developing the economic cooperation between these countries to reach a regional economic bloc which meets the aspirations of the region's people and serves their security and stability.
The latest developments in the Iraqi arena and the exerted efforts to solve the crisis of forming the Iraqi government were also on the table.
President al-Assad reiterated Syria's stance which calls for forming a national unity government representing all the spectrums of the Iraqi people, stressing that Syria stands at equal distance from all the Iraqis and supports everything agreed upon by the brotherly people of Iraq.
For his part, Premier al-Maliki thanked President al-Assad for Syria's stances towards Iraq and its keenness on helping the Iraqis to achieve the security and stability in their country and to preserve its territorial integrity.
He stressed the keenness of the Iraqi leadership to establish the best and most solid relations with Syria on all levels in line with the brotherly and popular relations binding the Syrian and Iraqi people.
The meeting was attended by Prime Minister Mohammad Naji Otri, Assistant Vice-President Mohammad Nassif, Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem, Presidential Political and Media Advisor Dr. Bouthaina Shaaban, Minister of Petroleum Sufian Allawo, the Chairman of the Arab World Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Syria's Ambassador to Iraq Nawaf al-Fares.
From the Iraqi side, the meeting was attended by Iraqi Minister of Oil Hussein al-Shahristani, the delegation accompanying Premier al-Maliki, and Iraqi Ambassador in Damascus Hussein Jawadi.
Shaaban: al-Maliki's Visit to Syria Aims at Solving Problems Facing the Formation of Iraqi Government
In a statement to journalists after the meeting between President al-Assad and Premier al-Maliki, Dr. Bouthaina Shaaban said that the visit of Premier al-Maliki to Syria aims at discussing the bilateral relations and the obstacles hindering the formation of the Iraqi government, in addition to the points which were agreed upon regarding the strategic cooperation between Syria and Iraq during al-Maliki's visit to Damascus last year.
Dr. Shaaban added that Syria has received all the Iraqi parties and this visit comes in this framework because Syria stands at a similar distance from all the Iraqis, indicating that the main goal of Syria is to form a national unity government including all the Iraqi spectrums.
On al-Maliki's visit, she said that the atmosphere of the visit was good as Syria is dealing with issues and in policy there is always ups and downs in relations, but what is more important is to adopt a clear vision and a goal represented in achieving the stability and security of Iraq and the common interests of the Iraqi and Syrian people.
Answering a question on whether Syria got conformations from al-Maliki that he will seek during his consultations on forming the Iraqi government to represent all the Iraqi spectrums including the Iraqi List, Dr. Shaaban said " Syria realized al-Maliki's desire to form a government representing all the Iraqi parties which won the elections, but there is still a problem with regard to the positions and representation."
Shaaban highlighted what President al-Assad said during his talks with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan that Syria, Turkey or Iran can play an assistant role, but the basic and real role in forming the Iraqi government is that of the Iraqis who will decide how and when they could form a government representing all the spectrums of the Iraqi people.
On whether the visit would have a direct effect on accelerating the formation of the Iraqi government, Shaaban considered that it is difficult to expect that as it depends on the Iraqis themselves, pointing out that Syria sensed the desire and willingness of all the Iraqi spectrums to achieve that, but the problem lies in the way of forming this government.
She added that the contacts made by the Iraqi officials who visit the capitals of the neighboring countries come in the framework of their attempts to explain the viewpoints of these parties and to be assisted by these countries in forming the government.
She said that the neighboring countries even before the war on Iraq were meeting and discussing the Iraqi issue and this indicates that these countries have a real interest in achieving the stability, security and unity of Iraq, pointing out that any problem with regard to the positions, laws and the constitution could be handled after the formation of the Iraqi government.
Commenting on the bilateral relations, Dr. Shaaban said that during the meeting between President al-Assad and Premier al-Maliki, the two sides discussed the proposition of the Syrian-Iraqi Strategic Cooperation Council, underlining the importance of activating it.
Regarding the Iraqi refugees hosted in Syria and whether the issue of their return to Iraq was discussed, Shaaban said that this issue wasn't tackled because the formation of the Iraqi government and restoring the stability and security of Iraq will solve the problem of the Iraqi guests and guarantee their return to their motherland once security prevails.
President al-Assad held talks with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani during the Extraordinary Arab Summit held in Sirte centered on the importance of forming a national unity government representing all the Iraqi spectrums.
Premier al-Maliki's visit and talks with President al-Assad come in the framework of the visits paid by a number of the representatives of the Iraqi parliamentary blocs over the past period as President al-Assad has always stressed Syria's support to any agreement between the Iraqis based on preserving the unity, Arabism and sovereignty of Iraq.
The Syrian and Iraqi Ministries of Petroleum signed minutes last August on transferring crude oil and gas from Iraq to the Mediterranean coast through the Syrian territories.
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