Iraq Reportedly to Open Interest Section in Syria

BAGHDAD — Iraq will soon open an interest section in Syria, a state-run weekly reported Tuesday, the first hint that the two countries were getting closer to restoring diplomatic ties severed 19 years ago.

Al Ittehad weekly quoted an unidentified official at the Foreign Ministry as saying that the Iraqis will rent buildings for the interest section, a level below that of embassy.

However, Syrian officials in Damascus said Tuesday that little progress had been made since the two sides agreed in February to allow Algeria to represent their interests in each other’s capital.

Earlier this week, Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohammed Said Sahaf told parliament that Baghdad and Syria had agreed to resume diplomatic relations, but he did not say when it would happen.

Syria and Iraq cut diplomatic ties in August 1980 when Syria sided with Iran as it became clear that war would erupt between Iran and Iraq.

Ties deteriorated further when Damascus joined a U.S.-led alliance that drove Iraqi forces out of Kuwait in early 1991 during the Persian Gulf War.

But the two Arab countries agreed in May 1997 to reopen their borders and engage in economic cooperation, and Syria last year criticized a renewed Western bombing campaign against Iraq.