Syria, Iraq restore ties to combat militants
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Iraq and Syria restored full diplomatic relations on Tuesday after a 24-year rift in a move Iraq hopes can help stem what it says is Syrian support for militants and encourage other Arab states to rally to its aid.
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Iraq has closed its borders with Iran and Syria as part of a security crackdown aimed at stopping foreign fighters and weapons entering the country, an Iraqi Interior Ministry official said on Thursday.
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U.S. Senator Bill Nelson met Syrian  President Bashar al-Assad on Wednesday, a week after a U.S.  bipartisan panel recommended the Bush administration engage  Syria to help stabilize Iraq.
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Syria and Russia, one-time allies driven apart by the collapse of the Soviet Union and brought closer again by American policies, both stand to gain from a relationship reinvigorated by Syrian President Bashar Assad's visit to Moscow.
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Syria has made a lot of progress in  controlling its border with Iraq but still needs to do more to  stop fighters moving across the frontiers, U.S. Deputy  Secretary of State Richard Armitage said on Sunday.
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Jordan and Iraq signed an agreement Wednesday to coordinate intelligence on al-Qaida and other terrorist groups, a show of cooperation between two countries whose relations have been marked at times by suspicion.
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By opening the door to a high-level dialogue with Iran and Syria, the United States appears to be embracing a diplomatic strategy that its critics have long said was essential to stabilize Iraq.
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The number of foreign fighters entering Iraq from Syria has decreased noticeably in recent months, corresponding to a similar decrease in suicide bombings and other attacks by the group al-Qaeda in Iraq, according to U.S. military and intelligence officials.
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Just four months after imposing economic sanctions on Syria, the US now plans tight coordination with Syrian troops along a 350-mile border with Iraq to help keep out foreign terrorists.
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Syria on Thursday rejected Iraqi accusations that it and Iran were supporting al-Qaida-linked insurgents in Iraq. Iraqi Defense Minister Hazem Shaalan said Wednesday that Iranian and Syrian intelligence agents
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WASHINGTON -- The United States agreed yesterday to join high-level talks with Iran and Syria on the future of Iraq, an abrupt shift in policy that opens the door to diplomatic dealings the White House had shunned in recent months despite mounting criticism.
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Syria has closed its borders to Iraqis and imposed new visa rules that will legally require 1.5 million Iraqis currently in Syria to return to Iraq.
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Both Iraqi unity and global engagement may get a boost.
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Lebanese and Palestinian militants are now showing greater coordination.
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DAMASCUS -- A foiled attempt yesterday by suspected Al Qaeda-linked militants to blow up the US Embassy in Damascus led to an unusual diplomatic exchange highlighting the tense relations between the countries. The United States praised Syria for thwarting the attack, but Syria replied by blaming US policies for strengthening Islamic militants.
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Iraq is stepping up efforts to improve relations with neighbouring Iran, which has been highly critical of the military action against Shiite militias in Iraq.
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Iraq begins re-opening border crossings with Iran and Syria after a three-day security crackdown on insurgents.