Iraq assets in Syria are not 3 billion, Syrian- American cooperation confirmed

An official in the American embassy in Damascus denied that Iraqi money which the US administration is looking for in Syrian and Lebanese banks to be in the amount of 3 billion dollars, as announced previously; a matter that was also confirmed by the Syrian Minister of economy Ghassan Rifaee.

An official at the US embassy in Damascus stressed that a delegation representing the American treasury department has since some time visited Syria to discuss the question of the Iraqi assets frozen in Syria.

The official explained that Syria cooperates with the American delegation concerning the money which belong to the former Iraqi regime. The official denied press reports which say that these assets which the American delegation tries to depict as being in Syrian and Lebanese banks valued at 3 billion dollars.

To this effect, the Syrian minister of economy Ghassan Rifaee stressed that the Syrians are collaborating "fully" with the Americans and that he had sent a message to the US treasury department which follows up this matter, on behalf of the coalition forces which are led by the US in Iraq.

The two British dailies " Daily Telegraph" and " Financial Times" quoted Rifaee as saying that the Syrian government froze the assets belonging to the Iraqi government including the money of the Iraqi mission, the trade mission, the Iraqi airline and the Iraqi transport company as well as assets belong to Iraqi figures.

Al-refai estimated the sum at hundreds millions of dollars and underestimated what was published in the American press. He stressed "that nothing of this money was touched" and they will be returned back immediately upon the formation of an elected Iraqi government. Rifaee concluded saying "should a sum of 3 billion be discovered, the Americans would have been immediately notified."