Shafaq News/ The office of the head of al-Hashd al-Shaabi, Faleh al-Fayyad, issued a statement today in which he revealed the details of his meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The statement said, "During his meeting with the President of the Syrian Arab Republic, Bashar Al-Assad, he (al-Fayyad) conveyed the letter of Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi to clarify that the failure to invite the Syrian side to attend does not reflect Iraq's disregard for the brotherly Syrian government, but rather an expression of concern for the success of a conference through which we seek to provide understandings that help produce solutions to the region's problems."

"The two parties discussed aspects of the relation between Baghdad and Damascus, especially concerning combating terrorism and controlling the security of the borders," the statement added.

Al-Fayyad's office expressed surprise at, "h

the hasty statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which was a response to some uninformed media outlets reports."

Earlier today, the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied inviting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to attend the Baghdad Summit.

The Ministry said in a statement, "some media outlets reported that the Iraqi government has invited the Syrian government, to participate in the summit meeting of neighboring countries, scheduled to be held by the end of the current month in Baghdad."