DAMASCUS, 29 September 2004 — A US-Iraqi delegation opened talks here yesterday with Syrian officials on means to boost security along the Syria-Iraq border as part of the fight against the insurgency in Iraq, the US Embassy said.

The delegation of US military officers and Iraqi government officials, who arrived Monday, includes representatives of the multinational forces in Iraq and of the US Central Command for the region, a statement said.

The talks yesterday and today will study “practical ways” in which the multinational forces, along with Iraqi and Syrian security services, “can cooperate to ensure that the Syrian-Iraqi border is closed to the illicit traffic of people or weapons”, it said. “What is essential now is genuine progress, not rhetoric.”

US Secretary of State Colin Powell said last Sunday that Syria was taking a “positive” approach in addressing US concerns on securing the border with its eastern neighbor.