Sadr pushes bilateral ties in Syria

DAMASCUS, Syria, July 22 (UPI) -- The visit to Damascus by Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr was part of a broader effort to strengthen ties between the two Arab neighbors, officials said.

Syrian President Bashar Assad welcomed Sadr on an unscheduled visit from Iran on Monday to discuss the situation in Iraq following the U.S. troop drawdown.

U.S. combat forces pulled back to their military bases in Iraq on June 30 under the terms of a bilateral security agreement with Baghdad.

Sadr had complained in the wake of the June 30 deadline that Iraq was not serious about its enforcement of the bilateral security agreement.

A Sadr representative, speaking to the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat on condition of anonymity, said the radical cleric considered the U.S. troop withdrawal a drawdown in name only, as American forces continued to patrol in parts of the country.

Iraqi officials had raised their own complaints that U.S. combat forces were operating in the north of the country earlier this month.

The same representative added that Sadr was interested in finding political solutions for the challenges facing Iraq as American forces diminish their presence.

Sadr emerged from two years of religious studies in Iran to visit top leaders in Ankara on May 1, making his first public appearance in years.