Tehran-Riyadh talks should resume soon: Iraqi FM
Yusef Jalali
Press TV, Tehran
Iraq's Foreign Minister Fuad Hossein has visited Tehran for talks on issues of mutual interest.
This is the second time in 7 months that Iraqi Foreign Minister, Fuad Hossein has visited Tehran. The Iraqi diplomat's trip came upon an invitation by his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amirabdollahian.
The two hour talks were held behind closed doors, but from what the joint presser suggests, regional security topped the discussions.
Iraq has been mediating talks between Tehran and Riyadh over ways to resume diplomatic ties between the two regional rivals, after more than five years of icy relations.
Iran and the Arab kingdom stand on opposition sides in the Saudi war on Yemen, which has been ongoing since 2014, with Iran calling for a ceasefire.
The Iraqi foreign minister says a fifth round of talks, due in mid-March, was suspended, calling on both sides to quickly resume the discussions.
The Iranian foreign minister for his part thanked Baghdad's constructive role in brokering the Saudi-Iranian talks, saying Tehran is ready to come back to the negotiating table.
Iraq and Iran are close political and security partners. This partnership was best manifested during the fight on Daesh terrorists in Iraq, when Tehran helped dislodge the terror group there.
But when it comes to trade ties, both sides agree that they need to do more, putting the current bilateral trade volume between the two countries at roughly 14 bn dollars. The two sides now agreed to take steps to at least double this figure.
Tehran and Baghdad's ties are basically defined by security cooperation, but let's not forget that Iraq was among the countries that maintained its economic cooperation with Tehran in the peak of US sanctions on Iran. Now this visit is seen as another step forward in the two sides' trade and security partnership.
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