Mottaki: Iraq in a crucial juncture in its history

Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said here Monday that Iraq, currently, stands in an important decision making point of its history.

After meeting with Syrian Vice-President Farouq al-Shara here, he told reporters, "Iraq stands in a special situation, now."

Referring to the security agreement issue between Iraq and the USA, Mottaki underscored, "The US insists on remaining in Iraq without any reason and under the pretext of Article 7 of the UN Charter which is quite irrelevant.

He said, "US should not impose its own viewpoints on the region", adding, "Making decisions on this agreement is totally an internal issue for Iraq."

Mottaki continued, "In the meeting with President Bashar al-Assad and Vice-President Farouq al-Shara, we discussed regional developments and the latest steps taken in bilateral relations between Iran and Syria."

He said, "Recent visit of President Assad to Iran and negotiations with Iranian senior officials was a new chapter in mutual developing ties."

Mottaki, who arrived in Damascus on Monday afternoon, is to depart Damascus for Tehran after meeting with Syrian parliament Speaker Mahmoud al-Abrash./end