TEHRAN, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) -- Iran on Sunday called on the Iraqi government to fully disarm the "terrorist groups" along the common border, Iran's official news agency IRNA reported.
In a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani in Baghdad on Sunday, Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Mohammad Baqeri expressed gratitude to the Iraqi government for following up on the security agreement signed in March between the two neighbors, which requires the disarmament of "separatist terrorist groups" based in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region and their relocation from areas close to the common border.
Baqeri stressed that the Iraqi government was expected to seriously complete the process of disarming these "counter-revolutionary" groups.
The Iraqi prime minister, for his part, said that the two countries should resolve the issue through interaction, in addition to improving bilateral cooperation in different fields.
During Baqeri's meeting with Iraqi Interior Minister Abdul Amir al-Shammari on Sunday in Baghdad, the Iranian commander reaffirmed the demand for the total disarmament of "terrorists" along the shared border.
While praising the Iraqi government for its efforts to relocate these groups from the border areas, Baqeri emphasized that there was still evidence and concerns about the existence of "certain terrorists" along the common border.
The Iranian commander noted that one way to ensure total border security was to carry out joint activities along the 1500-kilometer common border by the two countries' border guards.
The Iraqi minister, for his part, praised the Iranian armed forces for their helpful cooperation with the Iraqi government and armed forces in maintaining border security, emphasizing that border control was one of his ministry's priorities.
Heading a delegation, Baqeri left Tehran for Baghdad on Saturday night. On Sunday, he also met Iraqi Defense Minister Thabet Mohammed al-Abbasi and Chief of the General Staff of the Iraqi Armed Forces Abdel Emir Rashid Yarallah.
Under the joint security agreement, the Iraqi government had pledged to disarm anti-Iran "separatist terrorist groups" operating in Iraq's Kurdistan Region and relocate them to an alternate camp by Sept. 19. ■
