Iraq, Iran Stress Importance to Solve Outstanding Issues

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Sunday, January 13, 2002

Iraq, Iran Stress Importance to Solve Outstanding Issues

Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri Ahmed and a visiting Iranian official on Saturday stressed the importance of resolving the outstanding issues between the two countries.

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Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri Ahmed and a visiting Iranian official on Saturday stressed the importance of resolving the outstanding issues between the two countries.

During a meeting with Amir Hussein Zamani, consultant for Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi, Ahmed said that Iraq was willing to boost ties with Iran and settle the outstanding "humanitarian" issues, the state-run Iraqi television reported.

The settlement of the issues require efforts from both sides, he stressed.

"Iran echoes with Iraq in developing bilateral relations and resolving the outstanding problems between the two sides by taking necessary measures," Zamani said.

He also hailed Ahmed's planned visit to Tehran later this month.

The Iraqi foreign minister has said that he will seek to establish "good-neighborly relations" with Iran during his Tehran trip.

More than 13 years after the ceasefire of their bloody war in 1980-88, Iraq and Iran have neither normalized their relations nor signed a peace treaty.

Thorny issues, such as the fate of thousands of prisoners of war and missing in actions, the support for opposition groups by each government and the return of refugees to their homeland, have marred the normalization of the relations.

However, the two former foes have shown enthusiasm for better relations and Iraqi Minister of Transport Ahmad Murtada Ahmad left Baghdad for Tehran Saturday on a three-day visit in a bid to

improve the bilateral relations.

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