BAGHDAD (AP) — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Sunday his landmark visit to Iraq opened a new chapter in "brotherly" relations between the two countries, which were once bitter enemies.Ahmadinejad is the first Iranian president to visit Iraq. He went from Baghdad's airport straight to a meeting with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, who gave him a red-carpet welcome. The two kissed four times on the cheek in the traditional fashion and a band played the two countries' national anthems.
"We had very good talks that were friendly and brotherly. ... We have mutual understandings and views in all fields, and both sides plan to improve relations as much as possible," Ahmadinejad said in a joint news conference with Talabani at the Iraqi president's residence, which is located across the Tigris River from the new U.S. Embassy in the fortified Green Zone.
Ahmadinejad's visit here gives him a chance to highlight the relationship his country has with post-Saddam Hussein Iraq — both countries are led by Shiite Muslims — while also serving as an act of defiance toward the United States, which accuses Iran of training and giving weapons to Shiite extremists. Iran denies the charges.
