Syria denies interference in Iraq

WASHINGTON - Syrian Foreign Minister Farouq al-Shara on Sunday denied US charges that Damascus is interfering in Iraq.

If anti-American insurgents "cross any bordering state to Iraq, it is against the will of the government of Syria," Shara said in an interview with CNN Television's Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer.

"We are not friendly, even with them, because this is not the right way to help the Iraqis," the minister added.

President George W Bush has demanded that Syria -- as well as Iran -- stop insurgents and money from entering Iraq ahead of next Sunday's landmark elections. Iraq's interim defence minister has accused both countries of working with the network of al Qaeda Islamist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in Iraq.

Secretary of State-designate Condoleezza Rice warned the Syrian government last week that it faced new sanctions and "long-term bad relations" with the United States, because of its suspected interference in Iraq and ties to terrorism.

Bush is reviewing a wide range of options, including freezing the assets of high-ranking Syrian government officials, administration and congressional officials said.

Military options have also not been ruled out.

Shara denied charges by an Iraqi official that "tens of thousands" of high-ranking members of Saddam Hussein's Iraqi Baathist Party are in Damascus, including Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, a leader of the Revolutionary Command Council.

Many Iraqis have fled to Syria for "safety" but "all the Iraqi previous regime members are not welcome," he insisted.

Shara also predicted Syrian military forces would remain in Lebanon "only a couple of years" more. Syria has been under intense UN pressure to leave neighboring Lebanon, where it has 14,000 troops.

The US State Department designates Damascus as a sponsor of terrorism and has subjected it to limited sanctions for years.

- REUTERS