Jordan Will Not Be Launching Pad For Strike On Iraq

Southnews, 24 February 2003

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 24 (Bernama)&# 8212;Jordan will not let any part of its territory be used as a staging point for a United States-led attack on neighbouring Iraq, its Foreign Minister, Marwan Muasher, said Monday.

No, absolutely not. We made that clear several times that we are not a party to this war.

Jordanian land will not be used as a launching pad against Iraq. We are a very small country and we are not going to participate in such a move, he told reporters after calling on Malaysian Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar on the sidelines of the ongoing 13th Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit, here.

Muasher said Jordan, which shares a common border with Iraq, was very concerned with the possibility of a war on Iraq.

We are very concerned with a war. We are trying to avoid the war in coordination with NAM, the Arab League and other international fora, he said.

He said any action or decision taken on Iraq should be made and sanctioned by the United Nations Security Council.

The world community needs to work through the United Nations and the Security Council.

He said a second UN resolution was important before any action was taken on Iraq.

Muasher said the international community should not stop trying to avert a war on Iraq even if there was slim chance that the crisis could be solved through diplomatic means.

On the development in the Palestinian occupied territory, he said the security situation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip had worsened with both the Israelis and Palestinians engaging in daily attacks.

He said the international community, including the US, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations had agreed on a road map to bring an end to the Palestine-Israel conflict.

The road map will set out a course of action if implemented and lead to the establishment of a Palestinian state in three years, the end of Israeli occupation and peace and security to all, he said.—BERNAMA