Syria, Iraq Leaders Reportedly Talked in Secret in Jordan

The leaders of Syria and Iraq, two longtime foes, held two days of talks last week at secret meetings hosted by Jordan’s King Hussein, the Washington Post reported Monday.

The talks between Syrian President Hafez Assad and Iraqi President Saddam Hussein were held in Jordan immediately after Assad returned from Moscow, where he had met with Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev, the Post said.

Citing what it called well-informed Israeli sources, the newspaper said the leaders met either at the site of an air force base in northern Jordan or at Jufur, a remote desert settlement near the Iraqi and Syrian borders.

The Post said its sources did not know whether the two leaders, who have not met publicly since 1979, reached any agreements in their discussions.

But the Post said Israeli experts believe one result of the meeting could be a tacit Syrian neutrality in the 6 1/2-year war between Iraq and Iran. Syria has sided with Iran.