Iraq's Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari urged countries Wednesday to stop sending military aid to Syria and stay out of the conflict, according to the Associated Press.
In his commentary at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, Zebari stated that the aid could be used to assist jihadist groups in the country and that Iraq would maintain its neutral stance in the conflict. According to the top Iraqi diplomat, supplying weapons to any party "will only perpetuate the conflict and reduce the prospects of a negotiated settlement."
The US has been sending small arms to Syrian opposition leaders during the past few weeks and French President Hollande recently stated that his country was "ready" to provide weapons to the opposition as well.
In his statement, Zebari further confirmed US accusations that Iran had used Iraqi airspace to assist the Asssad regime, but said that Baghdad did not have the capacity to stop such flights through its skies.
Iraq's security has been in question since the outbreak of the Syria conflict in 2011 and officials including Zebari have cited this neighboring country's strife as a root cause of recent violence in Baghdad.
