Syria has halted military and intelligence cooperation with the United States, its ambassador to Washington said in an interview, in a sign of growing strains between the two countries over the "insurgency in Iraq", the New York Times reported.
Ambassador Imad Moustapha said in the interview on Friday at the Syrian Embassy in Washington that his country had, in the last 10 days, "severed all links" with the United States military and Central Intelligence Agency because of what he called "unjust American allegations".
The Bush administration has complained bitterly that Damascus is not doing enough to halt the flow of men and money to the "insurgency in Iraq".
According to the report, published on the NYT website Monday, Moustapha said he believed that the Bush administration had decided "to escalate the situation with Syria" despite measures the Syrians have taken against the "insurgents in Iraq", and despite the withdrawal in recent weeks of Syrian troops from Lebanon.
