Cairo, Apr 17: Syria will allow no inspections of its military arsenal or its territory to refute US accusations that it possesses chemical weapons, foreign minister Faruq al-Shara said here today. Damascus "will only contribute, with its (Arab) brothers and the countries of the whole world to transforming the middle east into a region devoid of all weapons of mass destruction, chemical, biological or nuclear," Shara said after talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
Shara was responding to questions from reporters about whether Damascus would be ready to accept weapons inspections similar to those that took place in Iraq, but that were brought to an end by the US-led war.
Syria submitted yesterday a draft resolution to the UN Security Council proposing to make the middle east a zone free of weapons of mass destruction, as a response to US accusations.
The foreign minister repeated Syria's desire for dialogue with the united states, saying US secretary of State Colin Powell was "welcome" to visit Damascus.
A US State department official yesterday said Powell may travel to Syria, though no date was scheduled yet.
The United States has also accused Damascus of smuggling war material into Iraq, and giving refuge to members of Iraq's ousted regime, charges Syria has repeatedly denied.
"Relations between Baghdad and Damascus have not been good for many years," Shara said. The Syrian and ousted Iraqi leadership belong to rival branches of the nationalist and socialist-inspired Baath Party. Bureau Report