Syria-US.

--Mitchell's Aide, US Military Team Wrap Up Visit to Damascus

--Visit Boosts Syrian-US Ties

--Washington Plays Down Disagreement with Baghdad over Talks

A US military delegation spearheaded by Frederick Hoff, an aide to US special Middle East envoy George Mitchell, concluded on Thursday talks with Syrian officials on the Mideast peace process and reinforcing regional security and stability in Iraq, the pan-Arab daily AL HAYAT reported Friday. A US embassy spokesman said Hoff extended his visit to Damascus and met on

Thursday Syria's Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem "to follow up on Mitchell's proposals from a past visit." No Syrian statement was issued after the talks, but the US source added that the Hoff-Muallem meeting was "in line with US efforts to achieve permanent, comprehensive peace in the region." The Syrian state-run news agency SANA quoted Muallem as confirming to the US envoys Syria's commitment "to achieving fair, comprehensive peace in the region."

Hoff participated on Wednesday in security and military talks between a US Central Command team with Syrian officers. Discussions concentrated on Iraqi security and US-Syrian cooperation in that regard, and what Damascus could do to reinforce stability in the war-torn country. Washington continues to accuse Syria of not doing enough to stop foreign insurgents from infiltrating Iraq via the Syria-Iraq border, concurring that Damascus took measures to address that issue in recent months. It was the second visit by a US military team to the Syrian capital since June, in another sign of thawing relations between Washington and Damascus.

Mitchell visited Damascus at the end of July to renew US commitment to achieving comprehensive peace and developing Syrian-US ties. US-Syrian relations have greatly improved since the advent of US President Barack Obama in January. Obama eased some sanctions on the Syrians, which were first passed in 2004, and a new US envoy to Syria is expected to be named in September after a four-year hiatus. In a related development, AL HAYAT quoted the Syrian daily Al Thawra as saying a US investment group is touted to invest $40 million in projects in Syria.

Baghdad Bugged

The visit of the US military team to the Syrian capital to discuss Iraq's security has irked Baghdad, according to media reports on Thursday. "[Iraq's] security is an internal Iraqi affair, and the Iraqi government is the one which will hold talks with Syria on that issue next week," Iraq's government spokesman Ali Dabbagh was quoted as saying. "It is not the duty of the US delegation to negotiate on behalf of Iraq," he added, according to the pan-Arab daily ASHARQ AL AWSAT Thursday. Dabbagh said that Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki will head to Damascus next week to take up that matter with the Syrians. Against this backdrop, Washington tried to stress on Thursday that the US-Syrian talks focused on bilateral relations, dodging questions about the Iraqi government's discontent with the talks.

"I believe there is only a difference in description" of the discussions between Washington and Baghdad, said US State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley, as quoted by ASHARQ AL AWSAT Friday. The US team held discussions "with the Syrians in line with our continuous talks, which have bilateral and regional importance," Crowley added. He said the talks would certainly touch on Iraq's security. "It is clear that one of the issues to discuss with Syria is its efforts to monitor the Syrian border [with Iraq]. For years, we have been concerned about [insurgents'] infiltration of Iraq via Syria," Crowley explained. Part of the US strategy to help Iraq "is ensuring a bigger regional cooperation to do everything possible to support the Iraqi government," Crowley went on to say.