国际英语资讯:Syrias gates to neighboring countries start opening after years of isolation_时事

国际英语资讯:Syrias gates to neighboring countries start opening after years of isolation

"This crossing is a lifeline for university students and also farmers who want to sell harvest and marketing it in Syria," he said.

Meanwhile, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem and the visiting Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari said in a press conference Monday in Damascus that the border crossings between Iraq and Syria should be opened soon after the major defeat of the Islamic State (IS) in both countries.

Al-Jaafari said there is no reason not to open the border crossings between both countries, saying efforts are being exerted to reopen them as soon as possible.

For his part, Muallem said that the terror groups were controlling the crossings, accusing the countries backing them of standing against the opening of the crossings.

He also noted "we hope that the crossing between the Syrian city of Abu Kamal and Iraq would be reopened soon."

Both ministers did not say when the crossings will be reopened but said it should not take long.

Expectations for reopening the border points came as the Syrian army has cleared large swathes of border areas between Syria and Iraq from the presence of IS.

In July, the Iraqi forces worked to enhance the security situation on the border with Syria, installing cameras and flying drones to ensure the security against any threat from IS.

The border crossing that would be reopened is the al-Qa'im which is located in the southeast of Syria's eastern province of Deir al-Zour in the city of Abu Kamal.