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Moscow is ready to sell new weapons to Syria, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said.



Mr Lavrov said any sales of weapons of "a defensive character" would not change the strategic balance in the Middle East, without elaborating.

His comments came as the Syrian and Russian leaders held talks in Russia.

Before the talks in Sochi, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had spoken on the need to speed up military and technical co-operation with Russia.

The two countries are preparing deals on anti-aircraft and anti-tank missile systems, reports say.

Israel and the US have been critical of Russian arms sales to Syria.

Syria was a close ally of the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

Support over Georgia

Relations between Moscow and Damascus have been getting closer recently - this visit is Mr Assad's third to Russia in three years.

Mr Assad said on Thursday Russia's military campaign in Georgia was justified.

"I want to voice support for Russia over the situation around Abkhazia and South Ossetia... We understand the essence of the Russian position and consider its military reaction a response to provocation by the Georgian side," Mr Assad said according to the Russian news agency Itar-Tass.

Russia has been strongly criticised by the West for its military operations in Georgia launched earlier this month.

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Iraq's foreign minister has said Iraq and the US are "very close" to a deal on the future of US forces in Iraq.



Hoshyar Zebari says both sides were redoubling efforts to bring 10 months of tough negotiations to a conclusion.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice - on an unannounced trip to Baghdad - said the final deal would be in line with Iraqi laws and sovereignty.

US troops' immunity from prosecution and the timing of a US pull-out remain to be resolved, correspondents say.

The draft deal being discussed includes a commitment that US troops will start to pull out of Iraq's cities from next summer, moving to large bases out of public view, says the BBC's Crispin Thorold in Baghdad.

In a joint news conference, Mr Zebari and Ms Rice said they had agreed timetables should be set for a withdrawal, adding that a framework was close, but not final yet.

"We have agreed that some goals, some aspirational timetables for how that might unfold, are well worth having in [the Status of Forces Agreement]," Ms Rice said, after meeting with Iraqi officials, including Prime Minister Nouri Maliki.

She said the aim remained to hand over responsibility for security to Iraqi forces.

"We are trying to put together an agreement that protects our people, that respects Iraqi sovereignty, that allows us to lay the kind of foundation that we need for making certain that we complete the work we've all sacrificed so greatly to see accomplished," she said.

Mr Zebari said officials had hoped to conclude the negotiations earlier, but he cited internal political factors for the delay.

"Really, we are very, very close to closing this agreement, and as we said from the beginning, there is no hidden agenda here," he said.

"Time is of the essence, but, really, we are redoubling our efforts to bring this to a successful conclusion," he added.

Approval process

Earlier, Ms Rice said any aspirational timeline for a US troop withdrawal had to take into consideration the situation on the ground.

Any future agreement on the status of US troops in Iraq must be approved by the US president as well as Mr Maliki and Iraq's parliament.

Other issues up for possible discussion included the status of some 20,000 prisoners held by US forces without charge and Iraqi electoral law.

A United Nations mandate for US troops to stay in Iraq expires in December.

Iraqi officials have said they would like to see US forces end routine patrols of Iraqi towns by the middle of next year, and withdraw all combat troops in the next couple of years.

There are currently around 147,000 US troops in Iraq.

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Hundreds of Swazi women have marched through the streets of the capital to protest about a shopping trip taken by nine of the king's 13 wives.



They chartered a plane last week to go to Europe and the Middle East.

The BBC's Thulani Mthethwa says the protesters handed in a petition to the finance ministry saying the money could have been better spent.

"We can't afford a shopping trip when a quarter of the nation lives on food aid," they chanted.

Swaziland, Africa's last absolute monarchy, is one of the poorest countries in the world and more than 40% of the population is believed to be infected with HIV.

The march was organised by Positive Living, a non-governmental organisation for women with Aids.

Our correspondent says there was a cross-section of women on the march from professionals to rural representatives.

"We need to keep that money for ARVs [anti-retrovirals]," was another slogan shouted by the women.

King Mswati III, 40, has been criticised in the past for requesting public money to pay for new palaces, a personal jet and luxury cars.

News of his wives' trip broke in the local press a day after they left, our reporter says.

Earlier this week, senior princes warned the women not to march, saying it defied Swazi tradition.

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US combat troops could leave Iraq by 2011 under the terms of a deal awaiting approval by Iraq's parliament and presidency, an Iraqi official has said.



The draft security agreement also calls for US forces to withdraw from all Iraqi urban areas by June 2009.

The 27-point agreement reportedly includes a compromise allowing US soldiers some immunity under Iraqi law.

The final date when US troops leave will depend largely on security, the BBC's Crispin Thorold in Baghdad says.

The decision will be taken by a joint committee, which could reduce or extend the amount of time US troops spend in the country.

Mohammed al-Haj Hammoud, the top Iraqi official negotiating with the US on the status of US forces in Iraq, said a deal had been agreed that envisaged all US combat troops leaving Iraq by 2011.

Some US troops could remain beyond 2011 "to train Iraqi security forces", the AFP news agency quoted him as saying.

"The combat troops will withdraw from Iraqi cities by June 2009," Mr Hammoud said.

"Both the parties have agreed on this... The negotiators' job is done. Now it is up to the leaders."

A White House spokesman has however said details of the draft agreement were still being discussed.

Gordon Johndroe said US President George W Bush had spoken with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki about the deal.

They "had a good conversation", Mr Johndroe said, adding that "there are a lot of details that have to be worked out".

Handover aim

A deal also appears to have been struck on the controversial issue of granting US troops immunity from prosecution under Iraqi law.

Mr Hammoud said the deal allowed US troops to remain immune from prosecution on military bases and while on operation.

All other cases would be considered by a joint judicial committee.

The draft deal still needs to be approved by the Iraqi Presidential Council, and critically, by the parliament.

The deal marks the end of 10 months of difficult negotiations.

Speaking on a visit to Baghdad on Thursday, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the final deal would be in line with Iraqi laws and sovereignty.

Ms Rice said the aim remained to hand over responsibility for security to Iraqi forces.

There are currently around 147,000 US troops in Iraq.

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The arrests of three men over terror offences are linked to an investigation into threats to kill Prime Minister Gordon Brown, the BBC has learned.



The threats, also against former prime minister Tony Blair, were made in January on a recognised jihadi website.

The group posting the statement called itself "Al Qaeda in Britain" and demanded the withdrawal of British forces from Iraq and Afghanistan.

The men were arrested at Manchester Airport and in Accrington, Lancashire.

They were held in connection with the website threats, which included a demand for the release of Muslim prisoners from Belmarsh high-security prison in London.

Two of the men were about to board a flight to Finland. Counter-terrorist officers from Greater Manchester and Lancashire are now in Scandinavia continuing their investigations.

The arrests were a joint operation between Lancashire Police and Greater Manchester Counter Terrorism Unit.

Detectives have searched the homes of the men, aged 21, 22 and 23.

Two of the addresses searched were on Percival Street, Whalley Range, and Cromwell Street, Audley Range, in Blackburn.

Police have until Thursday to charge the men, release them or seek an extension to their custody.

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