US doubts Iraq-Syria-Iran summit to halt violence in Iraq
21/11/2006 17:15
The United States expressed doubts yesterday that a reported summit
meeting among the leaders of Iraq, Syria and Iran would help curb the spiraling
violence in Iraq.
While Washington would support any talks that could improve
Iraq's stability, there has been little evidence to suggest Syria and Iran were
prepared to change their policy towards Iraq, State Department deputy spokesman
Tom Casey said at a briefing.
"The problem is not what they say, the problem
is what they do. In our view, the next step would be to have them move beyond
those words and actually take some concrete steps," Casey said.
The United
States has accused Syria and Iran of being "state sponsors of terrorism" and has
alleged that both countries allow terrorists to cross into Iraq to fight against
the US-led coalition troops stationed in the country.
According to reports by
the Arab television Al-Jazeera on Monday, Iran has invited Iraqi and Syrian
presidents to Teheran for a weekend summit on curbing violence in Iraq. Iraqi
President Jalal Talabani has accepted the invitation and will fly to Teheran on
Saturday, the TV report said.
The invitations came during a landmark visit to
Iraq by Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallim - the highest ranking Syrian
official to visit since the toppling of Iraqi former leader Saddam Hussein in
2003.
xinhua
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