Baghdad: We did not send an official invitation to Bashar al-Assad to attend the summit of neighboring countries
The Iraqi Foreign Ministry confirmed its denial of an official invitation to Bashar al-Assad to attend the summit, which will be hosted by the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, at the end of this month.
The Iraqi Foreign Ministry’s denial comes after news reported that an official invitation had been sent by Iraq to Bashar al-Assad, by the media loyal to the Assad regime.
The Iraqi Foreign Ministry said in a statement: “Some media outlets circulated news that the Iraqi government had submitted an invitation to the Assad regime to participate in a meeting of some neighboring countries in Baghdad at the end of this month.”
The Iraqi Foreign Ministry added: “Official invitations are sent by official messages and in the name of Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi, and not by other parties.”
Al-Mayadeen channel, which is close to the Assad regime, had reported that Bashar al-Assad had received an invitation from Iraqi government to attend a summit of neighboring countries, and quoted sources it did not mention, “that the head of the Popular Mobilization Authority, Faleh al-Fayyad, delivered an invitation to the latter to participate during a meeting with him in the Syrian capital. “.
For its part, the Assad regime’s agency, SANA, indicated that the head of the “Popular Mobilization” conveyed to Bashar al-Assad a message from Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kazemi related to the summit, without mentioning the details of that message.
The loyal Al-Watan newspaper considered, “It is scheduled to direct this invitation to Bashar al-Assad, which will be an opportunity for the Assad regime to form a remarkable regional presence after years of estrangement and blackout.”
During the past few days, the Iraqi government extended official invitations to the leaders of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE and Iran, with the aim of participating in the summit that the country will host at the end of this month. For his part, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that he would participate in Baghdad summit, during a previous contact with Al-Kazemi .
The summit called for by the Iraqi government is the first of its kind after the Arab Summit Conference hosted by Iraq in 2012.
