BAGHDAD — Jordan’s King Abdullah II held talks Monday with Iraq’s prime minister after coming to Baghdad on an unannounced visit, the first by an Arab head of state since the U.S.-led invasion toppled Sad dam Hussein in 2003.
Abdullah called on Arab governments to “extend their hand to Iraq” because a strong Iraq “is a source of strength for the Arab nation,” according to a statement released by the royal palace in the Jordanian capital of Amman.
An Iraqi government statement said Abdullah had “frank and positive talks” with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on relations between the two countries. Al-Maliki told the king that Iraq wanted to improve relations with all Arab countries, the statement said.
In turn, Abdullah expressed Jordan’s support for Iraqi “efforts to impose stability,” the statement added.
Ties between the two neighboring countries had been strained since the fall of Hussein because of Jordanian fears that Iraq’s Shiite-led government was too friendly with Shiite-dominated Iran.
But U.S. officials had been urging Abdullah to visit Iraq to bolster ties between the two countries as part of Washington’s campaign to shore up support for the Iraqi government as a counterweight to Iranian influence.
Al-Maliki visited Jordan in June for the first time in nearly two years. Since then, the two nations appear willing to put their differences behind them.
