WASHINGTON, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on Friday called Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki about arms transit to conflict-plagued Syria over Iraqi air space.
In their telephone conversation, the two discussed issues of regional security, including "the need to prevent any state from taking advantage of Iraq's territory or air space to send weapons to Syria", the White House said in a statement.
The White House was alluding to Iran, which was accused of sending arms and other forms of support to the Syrian government headed by President Bashar al-Assad, Iran's key ally in the Middle East.
Washington has approached Baghdad time and again on its territorial and air space being used by Tehran in shipping the weapons, and the Iraqi government reaffirmed early this month that it would not allow Iran to use its airspace to deliver weapons to the Syrian government.
The U.S. and its allies are seeking al-Assad's ouster for a political transition in his country, which was plunged into chaos when anti-government protests broke out in March 2011 and degenerated later into a bloody and prolonged conflict between government and opposition forces.
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