Baghdad: Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari urged Iraq's neighbours on Sunday to prevent "terrorists and killers" from crossing into his country or else violence could spill across the borders.
"Despite our emphasis on national reconciliation at home we also need to reconcile with our neighbourhood, with the international community at large," Zebari told officials from the region, the United Nations and the Group of Eight at a conference in Baghdad.
"And this is critical period for us that we need your support and your commitment especially for our immediate neighbours."
Iraq's appeal comes on the eve of the start of congressional hearings in Washington by US Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker and General David Petraeus who are to deliver key reports on Iraq's progress amid a debate over calls to start bringing US troops home.
Zebari said that the country's neighbours needed to "actively work on controlling the borders and prevent terrorists and killers from infiltrating across into Iraq."
"Terrorism should be fought ... because the fires that they are igniting in the land of the two rivers (Iraq) will spread outside the borders and endanger neighbouring countries."
US and Iraqi officials have said security has been improving but that they are not seeing significant progress politically with Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki's government.
