British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said on Monday that London and the United States had no intention of attacking Syria after Iraq, but added that Damascus had "important questions" to answer.
"As far as 'Syria next on the list', we made clear that it is not," Straw told reporters in Bahrain, his first stop in a tour of the Gulf that will also take him to Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. "There is no next list," he said. "There are important questions which the Syrians need to answer."
Straw also said on Monday that he was unsure whether Syria was developing illegal chemical weapons and that dialogue was needed with the Syrian government.
"What is important ... is for Syria fully to cooperate over these questions that have been raised about the fact that some fugitives from Iraq may well have fled into Syria and other matters including whether they have in fact been developing any kind of illegal or illegitimate chemical or biological programs," Straw told BBC Radio.
Asked whether Syria had been developing such weapons, Straw said: "No I'm not sure is the answer, and that's why we need to sit down and talk to them about it." (Albawaba.com)
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