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Iraq promises no transit points for weapons into Syria: U.S.

19 March 2012 22:50 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Senior Iraqi officials have promised not to allow Iran to use Iraqi territory and airspace to send weapons to Syria, the U.S. State Department said on Monday, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

U.S. Ambassador to Iraq James Jeffrey met with senior Iraqi officials over the issue of over-flights over the weekend, the agency said in response to a query over the matter.

"These officials expressed a commitment to ensuring that Iraqi territory and airspace would not be used as a transit point for weapons to Syria," the agency said.

Media reports said weapons are being smuggled into Syria as protests in the Arab nation have been degenerating into armed conflicts between government and opposition forces.

Both Iraq and the U.S. governments have stated that they oppose arming any of the parties in Syria. Iraq shares a nearly 600-km- long border with Syria.