Syrian President Bashar Al Assad left Kuwait Monday after three days of talks on the Middle East crisis, Iraq and bilateral cooperation. But Kuwaiti officials stressed that Assad had not attempted to mediate between Kuwait and its former occupier, Iraq.
"The visit was successful with regard to bilateral ties, but the issue of Syrian mediation between Iraq and Kuwait was not discussed at all," Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad was quoted by AFP as telling reporters.
"The talks were economic and political in nature and had no relation with other countries," he said.
Kuwaiti Information Minister Sheikh Ahmad Fahad Al Sabah described the visit "as successful on bilateral ties, with a clear vision on inter-Arab relations and the situation in the region."
He denied that Kuwaiti-Syrian ties had suffered in light of last week's visit by Syrian Prime Minister Mustafa Miro to Baghdad.
"Kuwait is pleased with any developments in inter-Arab and Arab-Iraq relations in economic and trade fields," Sheikh Ahmad said.
The two officials also rejected an Iraqi call for the Arab League to form a committee to resolve the issue of people Kuwait says are still missing from the emirate since the 1991 Gulf War.
"We deal with this issue within the framework of the UN Security Council resolutions and not that of the Arab League," Sheikh Sabah said.
"I believe (the Iraqi call) is an attempt to surpass international resolutions and to politicize this humanitarian issue. We stick to international legal channels and we cannot accept such political tactics," Sheikh Ahmad added.
The Cairo-based Al Gumhourriyah reported Monday that Arab League chief Amr Moussa had said there had been consultations among Arab foreign Ministers on the Iraqi letter to the league calling for the committee.
Meanwhile, Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri said Sunday his country "did not know" of a Syrian move to reconcile his country with Kuwait, said AFP.
Asked about press reports over reported Assad’s efforts to reconcile the emirate with Iraq, Sabri told AFP he was "unaware" of such moves.
He said that Miro "did not raise the issue" during his visit to Baghdad last week.
Assad decided Sunday to extend his visit to Kuwait in order to continue talks with the emir on the 11-year-old dispute between the emirate and Iraq, it had been reported.
A Kuwaiti official said the visit was extended because of Assad's "overcrowded agenda."
Assad held talks Saturday with Crown Prince Sheikh Saad Abdullah Al Sabah and other top Kuwaiti officials, reports said.
Assad's visit to the Gulf emirate, which had been postponed earlier, came days after Damascus and Baghdad's ties witnessed a remarkable improvement after more than two decades of enmity.
During his visit, Miro signed ten cooperation agreements with Baghdad. Earlier, the two countries had signed a free trade zone agreement, and a railway line had been activated.
Kuwait and Syria last week signed three cooperation agreements on administration, agriculture and investment at the end of a joint ministerial meeting held in Damascus.
Over the past three decades, said AFP, the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development has granted Syria over $1 billion in loans for development projects, most of which came after the 1990 Iraqi invasion of the oil-rich emirate.
Syria fought alongside a US-led coalition which ousted Iraqi occupation troops from Kuwait in the Gulf War. But Damascus and Baghdad started to normalize ties in 1997 with the restoration of economic links.
In January, Syrian Foreign Minister Farouq Al Shara renewed his country's support for the territorial integrity of Kuwait - Albawaba.com
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