Turkey embarks on Iraq-Syria mediation
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu shuttled between Baghdad and Damascus on Monday. He however described Turkey's efforts to mend the Iraq-Syria relations not as mediation but rather as helping two brothers resolve differences.
The tension between the two countries escalated on Aug. 25 when they withdrew their respective ambassadors.
On Sunday, Iraqi security officials made fresh accusations about Syria's alleged role, showing journalists footage of what they said was a Saudi militant confessing he had attended a training camp in Syria.
When meeting with Davutoglu, the Iraqi Prime Minister demanded again for the United Nations to form a criminal court to prosecute those involved in the killing of Iraqis.
For his part, Davutoglu proposed the establishment of a tripartite mechanism between Turkey, Iraq and Syria in order to fight such kind of attacks.
Last week, Iraq and Syria recalled their ambassadors from each other's capitals following Iraqi allegations of Syrian involvement in the two devastating bombings on in Baghdad, which killed about 100 people.
In addition to Turkey, Iran and France are also making mediation efforts with aims to ease the escalating tension.
Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki of Iran, a close ally of both countries, visited Iraq and Syria on Sunday in an attempt to mediate.
The French foreign ministry also urged the two sides to overcome the conflict as soon as possible; Kazinform cites Xinhua. See www.xinhuanet.com for full version.