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Bush warns Iran & Syria not to meddle in Iraq
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush has warned Iran and Syria not to meddle in Iraq ahead of elections scheduled for January 30 and voiced new hopes of forging peace between Israel and the Palestinians.At a White House meeting with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Wednesday, Bush urged Iraq's neighbours to help the interim government of Prime Minister Iyad Allawi by enforcing border security restrictions in an effort to keep money and arms out of the hands of insurgents. "We will continue to make it clear to both Syria and Iran that ... meddling in the internal affairs of Iraq is not in their interests," Bush told reporters. He spoke after Iraq's interim defence minister earlier Wednesday accused the two countries of aiding al Qaeda Islamist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and former agents of Saddam Hussein to promote an insurgency that has intensified in recent weeks. Iran and Syria deny any links to the Iraqi insurgents battling Iraqi security and U.S.-led international forces. "We expect there to be help in establishing a society in which people are able to elect their leaders," the president said. "We expect people to work with the Iraqi interim government to enforce borders to stop the flow of people and money that aim to help these terrorists." ... Posted by: .com 2004-12-16 |
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