The Hindu : No arms inspection, says Syria

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Apr 18, 2003

Front Page

Front Page

No arms inspection, says Syria

CAIRO APRIL 17. Syria's Foreign Minister said today that his country would not accept arms inspections, but would join forces with the world to rid the entire West Asia of weapons of mass destruction in line with its recent proposal to the United Nations.

Washington accuses Syria of developing chemical weapons, a charge the Arab state denies. Asked by reporters in Cairo whether Syria would allow arms inspections, the visiting Foreign Minister Farouq al-Shara said: "No... After this initiative, this Syrian proposal (at the United Nations)... Syria won't allow any inspection. It will only participate with its (Arab) brothers and all of the states of the world in turning the West Asia into an area free of weapons of mass destruction.''

It was not immediately clear if the remarks were a departure from Syria's previously stated position that it would only allow weapons inspections if they applied to all countries in the region, including Israel, which is widely believed to possess nuclear arms. A ministry spokesman in Damascus declined to expand on Shara's comments.

Syria's Deputy Ambassador to Washington, Imad Mustapha, told a U.S. television programme on Sunday that Syria would welcome intrusive U.S. inspections into the arms programmes of all countries in the Middle East if they included Israel. On Wednesday, the U.S. Secretary of State, Colin Powell, said he intended to go to Syria for talks with President Bashar Assad.

U.N. must play role: E.U.

European Union leaders meeting in Athens agreed today that the U.N. must play a ``central'' role in rebuilding Iraq and urged the U.S. to maintain law and order in the country as they sought to put behind them the bitter split over the U.S.-led war.

The 15 E.U. leaders also were concluding their two-day summit with a call for a ``successful conclusion'' of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process through the implementation of a ``road map'' that was agreed upon by the E.U., the U.S., Russia and the U.N.

Saddam's half brother captured

U.S. special forces today captured a half brother of Mr. Hussein who, according to one American commander, has ``extensive knowledge'' of the toppled regime's inner workings.

Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks, in a briefing at U.S. Central Command, said Barzan Ibrahim Hasan al-Tikriti, a top adviser to Saddam, was captured alone in Baghdad.

Barzan Ibrahim was head of Iraq's secret police, the Mukhabarat.

Reuters, AP, AFP

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page

Stories in this Section

Talks with truckers fail

India's first SARS case found in Goa

Armitage to visit India, Pak. next month

No arms inspection, says Syria

Haren Pandya murder: 4 held in Hyderabad

Shelling in Kargil

Govindacharya quits politics

Bail plea rejected

Quake rocks China