Iraq's neighbours, some accused by Washington of not doing enough to improve security in the war-torn country, agreed in Syria on Thursday to cooperate with Baghdad in a bid to restore stability.
"The participants expressed a willingness to cooperate with the Iraqi government to bring about security and stability in Iraq and to build the Iraqi army," said a statement read by the Iraqi delegate after a two-day meeting of the Iraqi Neighbours Border Security Working Group.
"The participants examined ways of controlling the (Iraqi) frontier, of fighting organised crime and exchanging information," added the communique read out by Lubaid Abbawi.
The Iraqi delegate said the participants agreed that "controlling the frontier is the responsibility of all of Iraq's neighbours ... who have agreed to cooperate in building up Iraq's security forces and army on a patriotic basis."
US charge d'affaires in Damascus Michael Corbin, who attended the meeting as an observer, called for a clampdown on the flow of foreign fighters into Iraq.
"What is required now is action on specific security measures that improve the security of Iraq and its neighbours," he said in a statement.
"Most important, the flow of foreign fighters -- whose terrorist acts are killing thousands of Iraqis -- must be halted. The provision of weapons and training to those involved in acts of violence and terror inside Iraq must also cease," Corbin said.
Washington regularly accuses both Syria and Iran of fanning the violence in Iraq and not doing enough to prevent the infiltration of insurgents across their borders.