Iran, Syria Invited to Baghdad To Discuss Iraq Security Situation
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraq invited officials from Iran, Syria, and other neighboring nations to Baghdad next month to discuss the security situation in the country, a government official said yesterday.
The Foreign Ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to disclose the information, said the talks would be the first of 10 such meetings to take place in the Iraqi capital. Iran was the venue for the last meeting in July.
Iraq has also invited Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey to the discussions. The Arab League, Organization of Islamic Conference, and the United Nations also have been invited, too, the official said.
The American and the Iraqi governments have accused Syria of allowing foreign fighters to cross into Iraq. America has accused Iran of supporting Shiite militias. Both countries deny the charges.
The president of Syria, Bashar Al-Assad, stressed his country’s eagerness to promote Iraq’s security during a meeting with the head of the powerful Sunni Association of Muslim Scholars in Iraq, Sheik Harith al-Dhari, the Syrian Arab News Agency reported yesterday.
