Received Iraqi intellectuals and reaffirmed Iraq’s commitment to independence and liberation. / Syrian Initiative to Eliminate Weapons of Mass Destruction Was Submitted to the Security Council Before the Libyan One
Damascus – AFP: Syrian Vice President Abdel Halim Khaddam announced yesterday, after meeting with a delegation of Iraqi writers in Damascus, that Iraqis are “committed to their independence, sovereignty, and liberation from the American occupation.”
Khaddam made these remarks after receiving over 70 Iraqi writers, intellectuals, and poets, led by Mansour Abdulaziz al-Hadithi.
In response to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s call for North Korea, Syria, and Iran to follow Libya’s example and declare an end to their weapons of mass destruction programs, Khaddam stated, “This initiative has been with the Security Council for some time, long before it was proposed by Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi, and we, along with Arab countries, will continue to pursue it both inside and outside the Security Council.”
On another note, when asked about the possibility of resuming negotiations with Israel, Khaddam said, “We have a clear policy: we want peace, the implementation of UN Security Council resolutions, and respect for international legitimacy. The problem is not with us; it lies with the Israelis.”
Regarding reports of an American missile strike on the Syrian area of al-Yarubiyah, near the border with Iraq, Khaddam said, “I have no information.”
When asked to comment on U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell’s call for Syria to “get out of the hole,” Khaddam replied, “I believe everyone knows who is in the hole right now.”