HispanicBusiness

Baghdad (dpa) - US Secretary of State John Kerry and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki Sunday held in-depth talks on the two-year conflict in Syria, said an official statement.

Both sides agreed on "the necessity of reaching a political solution to the situation in Syria to spare its people more tragedies," said the statement from al-Maliki's office.

It also said Kerry had confirmed US support for Iraqi efforts against terrorism.

Kerry arrived in Baghdad earlier Sunday on a surprise visit, a few days after the 10th anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq that deposed Saddam Hussein.

Western media recently reported that Iraq condones Iranian flights carrying weapons for the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, which is battling an armed revolt.

Baghdad has denied the accusation, saying it inspects suspected flights.

Iran and the Shiite-led Iraqi government maintain close links.