Baghdad - In a surprise visit, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday arrived in Arbil, the capital of the Kurdish Autonomous Region in northern Iraq, Iraqi national television reported. Abbas arrived from Saudi Arabia, but had been in Baghdad last week. His visit to Baghdad was the first by a Palestinian president since the US-led invasion in 2003.

Last week in Baghdad, Abbas discussed the Middle East peace process and the situation of Palestinian refugees stranded on the Syrian-Iraqi border.

Since the beginning of 2009, Iraq has seen a flurry of high- profile diplomatic visits, including from US President Barack Obama, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Turkish President Abdullah Gul and Arab League Secretary General Amr Mussa.(dpa)