Syria Today | Syria and Iraq recall ambassadors

Syria and Iraq recall ambassadors

Syria and Iraq recalled their ambassadors on August 25 after Baghdad demanded Damascus hand over two people it accuses of masterminding a series of bombings in Baghdad which killed close to 100 people.

The recall was triggered when the Iraqi Council of Ministers demanded that Damascus hand over two men suspected of involvement in the August 19 attacks on Iraqi government buildings that killed 97 and injured 585. Iraqi Government spokesperson Ali al-Dabbagh said Iraqi authorities believe the two played “direct roles in the execution of the terror attack”.

In a subsequent article published on Syria’s official news agency SANA, Syria rejected Dabbagh’s statements and “expressed regret that relations have become subject to internal disagreements of perhaps foreign agendas”.

“Syria felt pain over those bombings and strongly condemned them, describing those explosions as painful terrorist bombings and reiterating the Syrian support to the security, stability, safety and unity of Iraq,” the article said. “Syria informed the Iraqi side of its readiness to receive an Iraqi delegation to inspect the evidence available to them concerning the bombings’ perpetrators, otherwise Syria considers what has been broadcast through the Iraqi media as mere fabricated evidence intended to serve internal political goals, and the conflicting and contradicting statements by the Iraqi officials are proof of that.”

In a separate internet statement, the Islamic State of Iraq, an umbrella group led by Al-Qaida, announced responsibility for the “blessed attack at the heart of wounded Baghdad”. It added that the attacks were meant to “wreck the bastions of infidelity” that belong to what it described as a pro-Iranian government headed by Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

The diplomatic row between Syria and Iraq emerged in the wake of a string of attacks against Iraq’s finance, foreign and defence ministries in Baghdad. In a tape aired on Iraqi television on August 23, one man arrested over the attacks said he had acted under orders from a man in Syria called Sattam Farhan, a member of a wing of the Ba’ath Party headed by Mohammad Younis al-Ahmed. Both are believed to be residing in Damascus.

On August 25, the Iraqi cabinet announced it would recall its ambassador from Syria for discussions over the attacks. “I was formally informed,” Iraqi Ambassador in Syria Alaa al-Jawadi confirmed to reporters at a press conference in his Damascus office. “I will leave at the suitable time.”

Hours after the Iraqi cabinet’s decision was announced, SANA reported that Damascus had summoned its ambassador from Iraq. “Reacting to Baghdad’s recalling of its ambassador from Damascus for consultation, Syria has decided to recall its ambassador from Baghdad,” an unnamed official source was quoted as saying.

The latest diplomatic fallout comes in the wake of a visit to Damascus by the Iraqi prime minister on August 18, where he met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. A joint statement released after the meeting said both presidents had agreed to set up a “high-level strategic cooperation council”, to be chaired by the countries’ premiers, which will meet twice a year. The ministers of foreign affairs, defence, electricity, finance, economy and transport will also attend the meetings, the statement added.

Maliki’s visit came one week after a US military delegation held talks with Syrian officials in Damascus on the issue, a meeting which the Iraqi government criticised for taking place without its presence.