The Iraqi government denied that any activity hostile to Syria was taking place inside its territories.
Iraq will not be a haven for foreign outlaws, a trusted source in the Iraqi government told Asharq Al-Awsat.
It dismissed as false reports about Syrian or foreign fighters entering Iraq who are being led by external parties.
Recent reports have claimed that Syrian fighters have set up a training camp in Iraq.
The source categorically denied the report, saying it is part of a media campaign aimed at undermining Iraq’s position towards neighboring Syria.
Iraqi security and military authorities are closely securing all borders and firmly confronting any attempts to infiltrate or threaten the country, it stressed.
Iraq is committed to respecting the national sovereignty of other countries and it refrains from meddling in their internal affairs, it declared.
Moreover, the source reiterated the Iraqi government’s stance in solidarity with the Syrian people and their right to determine their fate.
It is ready to help support Syria’s reconstruction and economic revival after years of war, it went on to say.
Syria’s stability is integral to Iraq’s own stability, it remarked. Both countries have an interest in their own security and stability, which will in turn support regional stability.
Baghdad will host an Arab League summit in May. Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa has been officially invited to attend in what is seen as an attempt to ease the tentative relations between Baghdad and Damascus after the ouster of the Syrian regime on December 8.
Media reports had said that former members of the Syrian army have set up camp in Iraq after refusing to return to their country. Members of pro-Iran militias have also reportedly left Syria for Iraq.
Last week, the Iraqi Interior Ministry firmly denied claims that dozens of Syrian regime officers, who had sought refuge in Iraq, were granted temporary residency on humanitarian grounds.
On December 19, Iraqi authorities turned over 1,905 regime officers, who had fled Syria, to the new authorities in Damascus.
