Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani held talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus today in the first such visit by an Iraqi premier since the outbreak of the Syrian war in 2011. During a joint news conference, both leaders said, they discussed securing their shared 600km border from security threats, including Islamic State terrorists, and agreed to enhance cooperation to reduce drug smuggling. Mr. Sudani said, they also discussed ways to combat drought conditions in both countries caused by a reduction in rainfall, climate change and upstream damming by Turkey. He said, Iraq supported the lifting of sanctions on Syria, put in place and expanded by the U.S. and European countries since 2011.