Iran and Iraq Plan Historic Meeting

Nov. 20, 2006— -- There will be a face-to-face meeting this week between the leaders of Iran and Iraq.

The chief spokesman for the Iraqi government told ABC News that President Jalal Talabani will travel to Tehran later this week to meet with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

"We feel that Iran is a very important neighbor," said Iraqi government spokesman Ali Aldabbagh.

"We would like to have a better relationship with Iran, and we don't want for Iraq to pay for the tension in the relations between Iran and the United States."

Syria, the other prominent player in the region, will not be represented at the meetings. "We prefer to meet with the Syrians directly, not through a third party," Aldabbagh said.

Syria's foreign minister visited Baghdad over the weekend. Syria and Iraq are set to re-establish diplomatic ties for the first time in 20 years.

A Delicate Balance

The State Department took a cautious view of the proposed summit. Spokesman Tom Casey was quick to say that the United States wants Iraq to have good relations with all its neighbors, including Iran.

"I think the thing that has concerned us, and still does concern us," Casey said, "is the fact that while there have been positive statements from the Iranian government about wishing to play a positive role in Iraq, those statements haven't been backed by actions."

This will be Talabani's first visit to Iran as president, although he visited the country while serving on the Iraqi Governing Council and has enjoyed a good relationship with the Iranian government for years.