Syrian Vice President Abdul-Halim Khaddam said in a press statement yesterday after meeting with an Iraqi popular delegation that Syria will not send troops to Iraq despite the UN Security Council’s decision to give the United Nations a greater role there.
Khaddam said, “It is not likely that any Arab country will participate in sending troops to Iraq.” He said that Iraq “is an Arab country that must regain its sovereignty and independence, and the occupation must end. There must be a state in Iraq chosen by the Iraqi people where Iraqi institutions exercise sovereignty over all Iraqis without discrimination for political, sectarian, or ethnic reasons.”
Khaddam expressed Syria’s support for the Iraqi people “in all Arab and international forums, and we consider that the ordeal that has befallen Iraq is a trial for the entire Arab nation, and all Arab countries must support the Iraqi people in order to regain their sovereignty and return to exercise their natural right within the Arab and international frameworks.”
Khaddam mentioned the presence of some Iraqi funds in Syria, but he refused to delve into details, saying, “There are some funds and some claims” (for their recovery), and this matter is under discussion.
