BAGHDAD, Iraq – The foreign ministers of Iraq and Syria formally announced the resumption of diplomatic relations Tuesday, with pledges to strengthen communication and security between the two neighbors.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari and Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem said they will re-establish embassies in Baghdad and Damascus, after a warm meeting between the two senior officials at Iraq’s Foreign Ministry.

Moallem said that Syria would back off from its demand that U.S. troops withdraw from Iraq immediately, in recognition of the fact that they are deployed in the country with the permission of the current government.

Zebari said future discussions between Baghdad and Damascus will focus on the readiness of the Iraqi army to resume control of its security.

In the meantime, Moallem said, Syria will work to improve security and negotiate with Iraqi dissenters based in his country.

Syria is a main refuge and entry point for Sunni Arab militants.

The diplomats also announced that Iraqi President Jalal Talabani will visit Tehran on Sunday and Damascus shortly thereafter to discuss Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s offer of a three-way summit among the neighboring states.

The diplomatic developments came against a backdrop of continuing violence in Iraq:

“Authorities announced the discovery of 26 corpses around the capital, most of them scarred by torture and gunfire.

“In Baghdad, gunmen assassinated Saad Khraibit Rashid, an assistant general manager for the Health Ministry, and a bomb aboard a minibus killed one person and injured 10 others.

“The U.S. military announced that American troops killed three suspected insurgents during a raid in the capital Tuesday.

“Iraqi special forces troops and U.S. military advisers conducted a raid in Sadr City, a Baghdad slum that is the stronghold of the al-Mahdi Army, a Shiite paramilitary force, in an unsuccessful effort to find Spc. Ahmed Qusay al-Taayie, a U.S. soldier who was captured on Oct. 23.

“Parliament Speaker Mahmoud Mashadani, a controversial Sunni Arab who was once detained by U.S. forces, narrowly escaped an apparent assassination attempt when a bomb planted under his car detonated as he left a legislative session in the capital.

“In Hawija, near the northern oil hub of Kirkuk, a policeman was assassinated, a local official said.

“In Kirkuk, gunmen shot to death Hussein Qader Omar, the director of the Education College at the University of Kirkuk.