Syria and Iraq are discussing a UN presence along the contentious border. They want to create a buffer zone policed by UN troops.

The move comes after Syria and the US severed all intelligence co-operation. Iyad Alawi - Iraq's former PM, and unoffical Iraqi envoy to Damascus - says Bashar has made positive sounds in response to the idea.

The US has been pressuring Syria for months about not policing the border effectively. But it raises the question - why isn't the US policing their side of the Iraq-Syria border? Maybe because it's such an expensive business - the US and EU recently agreed to provide funding for Syria to set up an effectively border police force - but Syria has complained that not a single dollar has yet been given.