Syria president calls for national reconciliation of Iraq

DAMASCUS, July 20 (Xinhua) -- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Monday met here with Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and urged him to push forward the process of Iraqi national reconciliation, Syria's official SANA news agency reported.

Al-Assad told the Iraqi cleric that Syria is keen to help promote reconciliation among Iraqi people in order to boost stability in the country and the region, SANA said.

Al-Sadr expressed his appreciation for Syria's support "for the interests of Iraqi people" and for the unity of the country and its people, according to the report.

President Assad also stressed "the brotherhood friendship" between Syria and Iraq during the meeting, the report said.

Bolstered by a base of predominantly poor urban Shiites, al-Sadr, a radical anti-American cleric and the head of the Mahdi Army, is one of the most influential religious and political figures in the country without holding any official title in the Iraqi government.