Syria's Foreign Minister Farouk al – Shara said Tuesday Damascus would not officially recognize the new Iraqi cabinet announced on Monday by the U.S.-appointed Iraqi Governing Council, but it was ready to cooperate with it.
Speaking in a joint press conference with the European Union’s High Representative for the Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana, al – Shara said that the EU has an important role to play in Iraq as the UN has its central role.
Answering a question about Syria’s stance vis-à-vis the new Iraqi government, al – Shara underlined that "our stance towards the new government is the same as towards the (Iraqi) interim council, it is just a step. We hope that this step will help ease the situation and improve the conditions of Iraqis." "We are ready to cooperate with it in the interest of Iraqi people," al – Shara added .
Answering a question about the possibility of reviving negotiations in the near future between Syria and Israel, the Syriam minister said that "if we suggest that the atmosphere permits the reviving of the negotiations, we will welcome this step, although I don’t believe that this will happen because of the Israeli attitude." (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
