Facing US and Iraqi pressure to stop the flow of foreign fighters to Iraq, Syria offered on Sunday to participate in efforts to stop violence in Iraq and renewed its call on the United States for a dialogue to improve strained relations. The latest Syrian offer came two days after Washington reiterated its accusations that Syria was not doing enough to prevent anti-US militants from crossing its border into Iraq. âSyria is fully ready to contribute towards preventing the bloodshed of the Iraqi people and to enable them to reach their hoped-for goals,â Tishrin, a Syrian government newspaper, said in an editorial. âSyria has stressed this fact to the Americans and has called them for dialogue and cooperation,â it said. âItâs still sticking to this stand and to its call. The problem is now theirs (the Americansâ) and not Syriaâs.âOn Friday, the US State Departmentâs spokesman accused Syria of making trouble not only for Iraq, by allowing foreign fighters to infiltrate the country, but also for Lebanon and the Palestinians. âSyria, more and more, is being recognised as a destabilising element in the region,â Adam Ereli said. âItâs not just about Iraq; itâs about Iraq, itâs about Lebanon, itâs about the Palestinian Authority. Because thereâs a connection between Syria and terrorism and murder and mayhem in each of these three different areas.â
The United States has imposed economic sanctions on Syria, long on the State Department list of state sponsor of terrorism. Syrian President Bashar Assadâs government insists it is doing what it can to keep foreigners from crossing its border into Iraq and has said in the past it was trying to control militant anti-Israeli Palestinian groups based in Damascus.