Jordan's King Abdullah II dismissed speculation that his family's Hashemite dynasty might rule Iraq if Saddam Hussein is removed.
"I am the head of the Hashemite dynasty and I say very clearly that this family has no ambitions to regain leadership in Iraq," Abdullah said in television remarks broadcast Friday.
The monarch said he believed that foreign leadership could not be imposed on Iraq. "If there was any member of this family who thinks in a different way, then that member only represents himself," Abdullah told the Middle East Broadcasting Center, a Saudi-owned satellite TV station based in Dubai.
Abdullah told MBC he favored a negotiated settlement to the dispute between Iraq and the United Nations. "We believe that a military operation, or a new war in the region, will have a devastating effect on all the people of the region," he said.
In case of war, Jordan will not admit Iraqi refugees, except in transit to another state, and it will not allow them to set up camps on its borders, Abdullah said. "They will not be allowed to stop over or stay in Jordanian territory," he said. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
