Iraq's embattled prime minister received a pledge from Syria's President Bashar Assad yesterday that Damascus is ready to help with efforts to stabilise Iraq. But the Iraqi leader conceded the two neighbours still face "real challenges."

Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki described the talks yesterday as positive and stressed the importance of having good relations with Syria. Both leaders emphasised that security was of utmost concern.

"We are not complimentary in our speech, but we want this visit to be a success and we are interested in stabilising Iraq and improving its situation," Assad said.

"Yes, we have mutual interests, and there are real challenges, we have to combine our stances to solve problems and to weave a network of good relations for both countries," Maliki said.

Maliki's three-day sojourn in Syria - his first official visit to the neighbouring country - comes as part of his efforts to seek their help in stemming the violence ravaging Iraq.

The US and Iraq have repeatedly accused Syria of failing to reign in the flow of militants and arms across the porous boundary into Iraq. Syria denies the allegations that it is fueling the anti-American insurgency in Iraq, saying it is impossible to control the long desert border.

Damascus said earlier this month it had taken measures on its eastern border to increase security, including stationing fixed check points and border patrols and tightening measures on the crossing of people under the age of 30.

After the talks with Assad, Maliki said he had insisted on the security issue and that the two agreed to find a mechanism for better border control but gave no details. He described the talks with Assad as encouraging and giving "hope of co-operation and understanding." "Without security, nothing can be accomplished, and we also offered the possibility of companies to invest in Iraq," said Maliki, who lived in Syria in the 1990s as an exile from Saddam Hussein's reign.

But Al Maliki said he was not carrying a message from the Americans to Syria. On Monday, the White House said it thought Maliki would deliver a message to stop allowing foreign fighters to cross the border into Iraq.

"I came here carrying the message of Iraq, not messages from others," he said after meeting with Syrian Vice President Farouk Al Sharaa.

The Iraqi leader also pledged to help Syria on the increasing flow of refugees from Iraq - about 1.5 million are living here, mostly in Damascus and the suburbs.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (R) welcomes Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki before a meeting in Damascus August 21, 2007. (REUTERS)