The New Nation - Internet Edition

Reuters, Baghdad

King Abdullah of Jordan on Monday became the first Arab leader to visit Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003, a landmark step towards reducing Baghdad's isolation among its Sunni Arab neighbors. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's office released television footage showing the king embracing members of the Iraqi cabinet lined up to greet him. Abdullah and Maliki walked hand in hand along a corridor before sitting down for talks.

Washington has urged Iraq's Arab neighbors to do more to embrace Baghdad, whose Shi'ite-led government complains it gets the cold shoulder in an overwhelmingly Sunni-led Arab world. "The king of Jordan took a bold step when he visited Iraq today," Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said in a television interview following Abdullah's visit.