The chargé d’affaires of the Iraqi embassy in Damascus, Yassin Sharif al-Hujaimi, denied that Iraq had received any official requests from Syrian opposition parties to facilitate dialogue with the Syrian government in Baghdad.
In a statement to Al-Watan, Hujaimi clarified that the Iraqi embassy in Damascus received a communication from the office of Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani, refuting claims made by political adviser Sabhan Mullah Jiyad on a satellite channel. Jiyad had alleged that Iraq had received formal requests from some Syrian opposition groups to sponsor a Syrian-Syrian dialogue on Iraqi soil.
Hujaimi emphasized the falsehood of these claims, reaffirming Iraq’s steadfast position of supporting Syria and respecting its sovereignty, without interfering in its internal affairs.
In his earlier televised remarks, Mullah Jiyad stated that official requests had indeed come from certain Syrian opposition factions for Iraq to mediate the dialogue. He indicated that while Iraq would likely not face outright rejection from the United States or Russia in pursuing this mediation, there could be indirect attempts to disrupt the process. Jiyad speculated that these powers might delay any dialogue until after a new U.S. administration is in place.
During a recent meeting with Prime Minister Mohammed Ghazi al-Jalali, Hujaimi highlighted the importance of the historic and fraternal relations between Iraq and Syria, stressing the need to strengthen bilateral ties in areas such as economics, trade, energy, higher education, scientific research, health, and commodity exchange, while also addressing obstacles to the development of these economic relations.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
