BAGHDAD - Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi is to visit Iraq on Tuesday for talks on cooperation between the two neighbours, his Iraqi counterpart Hoshyar Zebari said.
"We have a range of issues on both sides, including non-interference, cooperation, the economy and closing the files of the (1980-88) Iraq-Iran war," Zebari told AFP.
Then deputy prime minister Barham Saleh travelled to Tehran in August to call on Iranian officials to stop meddling in Iraqi affairs.
At the time, several Iraqi officials joined the United States in charging that Iran had been involved in a Shiite uprising against coalition troops in central and southern Iraq, and had even armed the radical militiamen who mounted it.
"Any instability in Iraq has a direct effect on Iran," Kharazi was quoted as saying at the time. "Stability and calm is in line with the Islamic Republic of Iran's interests."
Since then, a Shiite-led government has taken power, dominated by former exiles with close ties to Shiite Iran.
Zebari, who, like Saleh, is a Kurd, said he was aware of US concerns about growing Iranian influence.
"As far as the policy of this government is concerned, we value highly our relationship with the United States, and we know its influence on the region, on our country," he told CNN on Sunday.
"But at the same time, we are trying to build good relations with our neighbours, including Iran," he added.
Iran has called for war reparations from Iraq, while Baghdad has asked Tehran to return war planes dispatched by Saddam Hussein for safe-keeping ahead of the 1991 Gulf war.
Kharazi's visit will be the first by a senior official from a neighbouring country since Iraq's new government was sworn in earlier this month. It comes two days after a surprise visit by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
05/16/2005 14:16 GMT