Iraq plans talks with Syria to stop insurgent flow

"There are some armed groups infiltrating from Syria. We will talk about how much the Syrian government knows about these infiltrations," Jaafari told reporters here after meeting his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

"There will be a visit to Syria soon and one of the dossiers will be security," he said through a translator.

The United States has repeatedly accused Syria of aiding the Iraqi insurgency by supplying foreign fighters or failing to prevent militants from crossing the border into Iraq, a charge Damascus denies.

"We want to strengthen ties with all countries, primarilly our neighbours, but we will never accept anything that harms our economy and security," said Jaafari, who is in Turkey on his first visit abroad since he came to power last month.

He said Baghdad would implement a number of measures, including border controls, monitoring insurgent groups and asking neighbouring countries to prevent infriltrations.

His remarks came against a backdrop of rising sectarian tensions in war-torn Iraq despite repeated warnings from religious leaders against any acts aimed at dividing Sunnis and Shias.

Jaafari said Iraq would not fall prey to sectarian violence.

"There may those who plan (such violence), but Iraqi (society) stays away from such evil," he said.

Jaafari sought to dispel Ankara's concerns over an estimated 5,000 Turkish Kurdish rebels hiding in northern Iraq as Turkey says they are infiltrating back into Turkish territory in growing numbers to commit acts of violence.

"In line with the principle of good neighbourly relations, we will never allow any group to harm the security, economy and politics of a neighbouring country," he said.