Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa stressed on Tuesday that the Syrian-Iraqi borders are completely secure, saying joint coordination was underway between the two neighbors. In an interview with Iraq’s Dijlah TV, he added that the threats posed by the ISIS terrorist group have dropped, saying that no organization currently presents a danger to the two countries. Al-Sharaa also said he welcomes a visit by Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi to Syria. The Syrian and Iraqi governments are in agreement over several issues that bind them. Iraqi media have reported that al-Zaidi is set to kick off an official visit to Syria on Wednesday. He will visit at the head of a large ministerial delegation to discuss bilateral ties, and issues related to water, oil and trade between the two countries. The relationship with Iraq is not based on sectarian or ethnic considerations but on shared history and deep economic ties, al-Sharaa stressed. He said visiting the shrine of Sayyida Zeinab is available while ensuring security conditions, noting that individuals who tried to exploit the issue to stir sectarian strife have been arrested. "Syria does not view Iraq through a sectarian lens. We share a great deal in common, and social relations between Iraq and Syria have remained healthy for years. Since we came to power, Baghdad's policies have been positive, despite attempts by some factions to adopt differing stances,” al-Sharaa said. “I did not intervene in any sectarian conflict in Iraq following the events of 2003. I was released from prison in Iraq in 2011, after which I returned to Syria,” he remarked. "Syria’s stability is in the interest of Iraq and vice versa. We must build upon our common ground and establish an appropriate environment for relations, free of fears. What unites us is greater than what divides us, and we have had enough of wars and disputes. I have not assaulted any civilian in Iraq," he declared. “We are communicating with international companies to connect the Baniyas pipeline to oil refineries, and memorandums of understanding have been signed between Syria and Iraq regarding the Baniyas–Kirkuk pipeline,” al-Sharaa went on to say. “Syria is Iraq's gateway and maritime outlet, serving as the strategic route to the West. Syria is considered Iraq's gateway to the Mediterranean Sea for oil exports,” he noted.
