Armitaj: we will not attack Syria.. But our relations are difficult
Syria-USA, Politics, 4/9/2003

US Department of State official, Richard Armitaj, yesterday expressed his hope that Damascus would have stopped sending supplies and fighters to Iraq and blocked its borders before any non -humanitarian supplies.

He repeated his saying that the USA does not intent to attack Syria despite the many sources of "concerns from it." Armitaj was referring to the recent American accusations and criticism to Syria accusing it of providing Iraq of equipment of military and civilian use including night vision goggles as well as permitting Arab fighters to arrive in Iraq through Syria to fight against the US.

During his meeting with Arab media correspondents in Washington, Armitaj said that his government proposed "srong complaints to the Syrian government on our positions concerning the situation on the borders in recent weeks."

Armitaj's statements were in remarks to contacts between the Syrian and American governments through their embassies, before the public statements and warnings made recently between the US defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld, his deputy Paul Wolfwitz and the US Secretary of State Colin Powell. On fears of countries neighboring Iraq like Iran and Syria to be exposed to military attacks in the future, Armitaj said "we will not attack Syria."

In the course of his statement on the "successive steps" following the war against Iraq, he said that the American concentration now is on supporting Iraq to rule itself. But he indicated he expects the change in Iraq to have a direct influence on the neighboring countries.

Previous Stories:
  Blair asks Bush for UN role; Invasion's tanks incurred in Baghdad test defenses   (4/8/2003)
  Powell and rebuilding of Iraq   (4/7/2003)
  Powel increase American threats: Syria develops mass destruction weapons   (4/4/2003)
  Al-Assad's interview with Austrian Standard daily on regional issues, US aggression on Iraq   (4/3/2003)
  Arab press and the American threats against Syria   (4/2/2003)

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