Iraqi-Turkish ministerial meeting kicks off in Istanbul – BBC

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The Iraqi-Turkish ministerial meeting started in the city of Istanbul on Thursday, according to BBC News. “Iraqi and Turkish foreign ministers chaired the meeting with the attendance of a number of ministers,” the BBC said. “Syrian Foreign Minister Walied al-Muallem had raised doubts about the attendance of the Iraqi side to the meeting which is being held within efforts to ease tensions between Iraq and Syria ,” the British network said. High-level diplomatic sources said that the meeting , attended by the ministers of both countries, will be a preparatory meeting for the Strategic Cooperation Committee meeting in October under the auspices of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iraqi counterpart Nouri Al-Maliki. Iraqi-Syrian relations have been recently strained after the bloody Aug. 19 bombing attacks that left 82 people killed and 1203 others wounded. The Iraqi government accused Baathists residing in Syria of involvement in the blasts and called on Syria to hand them over. SH (P )/SR 1