Syria and the sanctions on Iraq

The London-based al- Hayat daily said in its Tuesday's issue quoting an Arab source as saying that Syria is the only Arab country which will not cooperate with the UN over the " smart sanctions" against Iraq, considering that Damascus benefits from its trade relations with Baghdad.

The sources which the paper did not reveal his identity and described as well-informed indicated that Syria tries to convince Iran at the meantime to be open for the Iraqi oil in order not to bear by its own the American pressures.

The same Arab source indicated that Iraq exports to Syria 100,000 barrels of oil per day through the Syrian- Iraqi line.

The paper noted that Syria uses the Iraqi oil locally and increase its exports of light oil.

Meantime, the paper quoted special information that the Iraqi foreign minister Muhammad Saeed al-Sahaf and ambassador Nabil Najam ( from Iraq) had visited Damascus last week and the Syrian official sources did not declare the visit which came in the wake of the UN Security Council discussions of the new sanctions against Iraq.

According to the paper, it was not learnt whether al-Sahaf had met with any of the Syrian officials and if the visit aimed at coordinating stances on dealing with the new sanctions system against Iraq.