Cease-Fire Near, Gulf War Foes Exchange Flowers--and Kisses
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BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iranian and Iraqi soldiers exchanged flowers and kisses instead of bullets after hearing of a cease-fire in the Persian Gulf War, Iraqi soldiers said Saturday.
The soldiers, returning on leave from the front, said the Iranians broke the ice at several points along the 740-mile front by walking across.
“They gave us flowers. We gave them flowers too and anything else we could find,” one soldier said.
The fraternization followed U.N. Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar’s announcement last Monday of a cease-fire date in a war which has lasted nearly eight years.
At one point, Iraqi and Iranian troops met for an impromptu swim in a river which had separated them. “We laughed, joked, threw water at each other and kissed each other on the cheek,” a soldier said.
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