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Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday called for stability in neighbouring Iraq, days after Baghdad alleged that Damascus is sheltering suspects linked to a massive bombing.
Assad spoke of "the need to reach national reconciliation in Iraq in order to achieve stability and security" there, during talks with visiting EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, state-run SANA news agency reported.
Stability and unity in Iraq "are in Syria's own interests," Assad was quoted as saying.
After a later meeting with visiting Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, Assad made it clear that he was keen to "preserve relations with Iraq in the interest of both peoples," SANA said.
He also urged the Iraqi government to provide Damascus with all evidence it has about those behind the attacks.
Relations between Iraq and Syria deteriorated after Baghdad said Damascus was sheltering the masterminds of one of two devastating truck bombings targeting government ministries in the Iraqi capital on August 19 that altogether killed 95 people and wounded 600.
Iraq demanded that Syria hand over the suspects but Damascus said it wanted hard evidence from Baghdad about the authors of the attack.
Ties between the neighbours effectively collapsed on Tuesday when they angrily withdrew their respective envoys.
"Iran and Syria condemn these terrorist attacks on Baghdad and express their commitment to the unity and stability of Iraq," Sanaa quoted Assad as saying after his meeting with Mottaki.
The Iranian foreign minister on a visit to Baghdad on Saturday said keeping violence under control in Iraq was vital to protecting the security of the entire region.
"Having the security and stability in Iraq or losing it will have a direct effect on all neighbouring countries," said Mottaki, who paid a brief visit to the Iraqi capital to offer his condolences on the death of Shiite politician Abdel Aziz Al-Hakim.
Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said on Thursday ties between Iraq and Syria were in the balance.
"Our relations with Syria have reached a crossroads of whether they choose to have good relations with Iraq, or whether they choose to protect persons who attack Iraq," Dabbagh said.
He told AFP in Baghdad that Iraq presented Syria -- on several occasions -- with a list of people it says have plotted attacks in Iraq.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki asked the Syrian authorities again to make good on the list during a visit to Damascus a day before the devastating attacks, but was rebuffed, Dabbagh said.
Turkey has now stepped in to try to resolve differences between Syria and Iraq.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu will visit Baghdad and Damascus on Monday and meet with Assad and Maliki, his office said.
Solana arrived Sunday in Syria on the first leg of a four-day regional tour amid renewed international efforts to resume peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
