Iraqi Shiite radical cleric Moqtada Sadr met with Syrian President Bashar Asad on 12/2/06 in Damascus for the second time in a week. Sources close to him say his talks with Asad focused on the Iraqi-Syrian relations and the necessity of opening a Syrian embassy in Baghdad. Asad agreed. The talks also discussed the situation on the Syrian-Iraqi border. Sadr tried to know to what extent Syria is prepared to help block infiltration into Iraq. Asad agreed to help if the UN or the Coalition forces provide Syria with the necessary equipment. The talks also raised the subject of Syrian-Shiite relations and the necessity of securing the roads for Shiite pilgrims while traveling to Syria or Iraq to visit Shiite holy shrines. Asad and Sadr welcomed the US move to contact Sunni tribes in western Iraq and supported the security measures there to prevent the Al-Qaeda groups from attacking the Shiite pilgrims.
Iraq Information Report - February 13, 2006 - 7th Year, No 7/764