Damascus denies the visit of an American delegation to al-Qamishli
Syria-USA, Politics, 3/16/2004

Damascus yesterday denied a news by the Israeli daily Haartez in which it said that an American delegation moved secretly on Sunday from Iraq into al-Hassaka area in northern Syria.

In a press statement, the Syrian minister of information said that what was issued in Haartez "is baseless" and falls in the course of conspiracies made against Syria.

Haartez quoted yesterday sources of Kurds and Syrians exiled in Europe that the American team, which includes intelligence officers met with senior Syrian army officers among a delegation dispatched by the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to Hassaka to negotiate with the local leaders.

Haartez, which said that the same information was issued on Kurdish websites on the Internet, explained that two American helicopters, arrived from Iraq to al-Qamishli and quoted own sources as saying " the American delegation warned the Syrian government that if acts of riots will continue the situation will be uncontrolled and the Syrians will find themselves in a position in which it is difficult to control the Kurdish militias in northern Iraq which want to come to help the Kurds in Syria."

Previous Stories:
  Washington complains against detention of one American diplomat in Damascus   (3/9/2004)
  Bush administration intends to impose sanctions on Syria, soon   (3/6/2004)
  Al-Assad meets with Arab- American anti- discrimination committee   (3/1/2004)

Please add a link on your webiste pointing to ArabicNews.com and bookmark ArabicNews.com & subscribe to our daily email news bulletin.

Search