Syrian, Turkish presidents warn on integrity of Iraq

We condemned approaches that could endanger Iraq’s territorial integrity," Assad said following talks with his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Necdet Sezer. Sezer echoed Assad’s call to protect Iraq’s unity, adding that stability should be restored in the increasingly turbulent country as soon as possible. "Turkey and Syria, as regional countries neighboring Iraq, are determined to efficiently pursue these objectives," he said. The historic visit gave an opportunity two sides to sign agreements on trade and investment. Assad later met to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Speaker of Turkish Parliament Bülent Arinc before going to Istanbul, the country’s financial capital, for meetings with businessmen. Bilateral cooperation and regional issues, notably the two countries’ common neighbour Iraq, were dominated Assad’s talks with Turkish leaders in a snowy Ankara adorned with Turkish-Syrian flags.