Iraq pushes for Syria progress in Brahimi talks

Iraq called on Monday for quick progress in resolving the bloody conflict in Syria, which visiting UN-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi said represented a threat to "world peace". Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki reiterated calls for a "political solution" to the 20-month uprising during talks with veteran troubleshooter Brahimi. "The prime minister warned of continuing conflict in Syria, and called for quick movement in order to maintain the lives of the Syrian brothers, and also to maintain the security and stability of the region," Maliki's office said. "Iraq backs all the efforts of the UN-Arab League envoy to Syria for the sake of reaching a political solution for the worsening crisis in Syria," it quoted Maliki as saying. After talks with Maliki, President Jalal Talabani and Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, Brahimi told reporters that he discussed the Syrian conflict "and the danger it represents to its people, its neighbours and to world peace." He added he was to travel on to Cairo after Baghdad, the latest stop on a regional tour aimed at finding a solution to the conflict. The Algerian diplomat met with officials in Saudi Arabia and Turkey last week, and was in Tehran before arriving in Baghdad on Monday. Brahimi called earlier for a temporary ceasefire in Syria during the four-day Eid al-Adha Muslim holiday at the end of this month.