ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - An Iraqi delegation held talks with Syria’s new government to address border security and regional developments, Iraqi government spokesperson Basem al-Awadi announced on Thursday.
“An Iraqi delegation headed by the head of the [National] Security Agency, Hamid al-Shatri, met with the new Syrian administration,” Iraqi state media cited Awadi as saying.
The discussions focused on “recent developments in Syria and the security and stability needs along the shared border between the two countries,” according to Awadi.
The delegation met with Ahmed al-Sharaa (Abu Mohammed al-Jolani), de facto leader of Syria, in Damascus, according to Jolani's office.
The 13-year uprising against Bashar al-Assad’s regime came to a quick end when a coalition of rebels led by the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) launched a lightning offensive against the Syrian army late last month, culminating their victory with the capture of Damascus as Assad fled to Russia, ending over five decades of Baathist rule.
The HTS-led groups established a transitional government, led by caretaker Prime Minister Mohammed al-Bashir, who has promised a future Syrian state that guarantees the rights of all its citizens.
The Shiite-led Iraqi government was among the top allies of Assad, but Baghdad was quick to announce that it did not want to be embroiled in the conflict.
Earlier this month, Iraq repatriated nearly 2,000 Syrian soldiers “willingly” who had sought refuge in the country before the collapse of the former regime.
During the escalation of the conflict between the HTS and the Syrian regime, thousands of soldiers from the Iraqi armed forces, including the Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), along with border police, were deployed along the Iraqi-Syrian border in Anbar province. Iraq feared that the developments in the neighboring country could negatively affect its security.
Updated at 4:19 pm
