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ANKARA (AFP) – Turkey's foreign minister will visit Iraq and Syria Monday to reconcile the neighbours after they withdrew envoys over Baghdad's allegations that Damascus was sheltering insurgents, his office said.

Ahmet Davutoglu will meet with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Foreign Minister Walid Muallem and hold talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, a statement said late Friday.

"The talks will allow us to listen to the views of both the Iraqi and Syrian side on the latest developments in Baghdad and convey them our views," the statement said.

Relations between Iraq and Syria deteriorated after Baghdad alleged that Damascus was harboring leaders behind one of two devastating truck bombings that killed 95 people and wounded about 600 in the Iraqi capital on August 19.

Earlier this week, Iraq recalled its ambassador in Damascus and Syria retaliated within hours by ordering back its envoy from Baghdad.

Davutoglu will also visit Egypt on September 1-3 for talks on bilateral relations and recent developments in the Middle East, the ministry said.

Turkey, a NATO member and a candidate for EU membership, has in recent years focussed on boosting its political and economic cooperation with Middle Eastern countries and sought to set itself up as a broker in regional conflicts.