IRAQ: BAGHDAD: KHARRAZI ARRIVES

Описание: (13 Oct 2000) Farsi/Nat

Iran's foreign minister arrived in Baghdad on Friday for talks to solve issues connected to the 1980-1988 war
between the two countries.

The visit by Kamal Kharrazi is the first high-level encounter between the countries in Baghdad in ten years.

Both Kharrazi and his Iraqi counterpart Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf expressed hope that their discussions, which will last several days, will lay a groundwork to normalise ties which are still strained over a host of outstanding problems.

The visit follows a meeting between Iranian President Mohammad Khatami and Iraqi Vice-President Taha Yassin Ramadan following the summit meeting of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) held in Caracas last month.

Kharrazi told reporters on arrival in Baghdad that Iran was keen to see war-related matters finally resolved, expressing a willingness to revive work by several joint committees the countries set up in 1997.

The committees made some progress particularly on the prisoner of war issue.

But they became mired in questions like border security, war reparations and the signing of a peace treaty.

Iran would like to reactivate a 1977 border pact the countries signed in Algiers.

Iraq tore up the agreement in 1980 but reversed its stand in 1990.

The deal obliges the countries to halt cross border infiltration and attacks by opposition groups based in each other's territory.

Iraq is said to have accepted an Iranian demand to put a halt to the military presence of Iranian exiles of Mujahedeen Khalq provided Tehran reciprocates.

Iran provides refuge to guerrillas of the Supreme Council of Islamic Revolution in Iraq which mounts hit and
run attacks on targets in southern Iraq.

Neither Kharrazi nor al-Sahhaf alluded to their respective opposition groups but both reiterated that for ties to return to normal the countries need first to solve all the problems.

SOUNDBITE: (Farsi
"With common understanding and good relations between our countries we can solve all renaming and outstanding issues between us."
SUPER CAPTION: Kamal Kharazi, Iranian Foreign Minister

SOUNDBITE: (Arabic)
"We propose forming committees to solve all outstanding issues between our countries to reach better relations."
SUPER CAPTION: Muhammad Saeed al-Sahaf, Iraqi Foreign Minister

Relations slightly thawed in 1999 when thousands of Iranian pilgrims started pouring into Iraq to pay homage to Shiite holy sites.

But the pilgrimage was abruptly halted several months ago with each country blaming the other for the stoppage.

Both countries have been targets of rocket attacks and explosions that each blames on the other.

Tehran would like Baghdad to pay billions of dollars in war reparations.

It refuses to return scores of civil and military aircraft Iraq flew to Iran to escape bombing by U-S and allies
during the 1991 Gulf War over Kuwait.

Kharrazi flew to Saddam International Airport.

His aides said the plane had U-N authorization to land in Baghdad.

The airport has been busy recently with planes from Russia, France and several Arab countries arriving in the past few weeks in a token challenge to U-N trade sanctions imposed on Iraq for invading Kuwait in 1990.

On Friday, the official Iraqi News Agency reported that two Sudanese planes with one million pencils and six
tons of medical supplies also arrived.

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