U.S. pledges to aid Iraqi elections

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BAGHDAD, Sept. 3 (UPI) -- The United States has pledged to aid Iraq during the country's elections over the next two years, officials said.

The promise to assist in elections scheduled for 2013 and 2014 came during a meeting Sunday in Baghdad during which the countries reaffirmed their strategic partnership, the State Department said in a statement on its Web site.

The meeting of the Joint Coordination Council was co-chaired by Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari and Ambassador Elizabeth Jones, U.S. assistant secretary of state for near eastern affairs.

The two sides discussed humanitarian and border security issues arising from the ongoing crisis in Syria, with the United States acknowledging Iraqi efforts to help Syrians who had crossed into Iraq as they fled Syria.

The commission was created in 2008 to strengthen partnership between the United States and Iraq on issues including defense and security, energy, law enforcement, science, trade and transportation.