KUWAIT: Kuwaitdismisses "slanderous" accusations lodged against it over terrorfinancing, Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Al-Jarallah said yesterday. "Iam baffled how Kuwait has been included in a list of terrorism financingcountries," Jarallah told Al-Jazeera television, citing the state'shosting of a trio of donor conferences in support of Syria as counterevidence.
His remarks cameas the Syrian Embassy in Kuwait categorically denied a report by Kuwaiti dailyAl-Seyassah on Sunday over listing a number of Kuwaiti personalities on theterrorism financing list. The embassy said in a statement that "itconsiders these allegations an attempt by some suspicious bodies which seem tobe unhappy with the development of bilateral ties between the two brotherlycountries".
On the status ofKuwait's embassy in Syria, Jarallah said, "operations will only resumewith the Arab League's consent." He predicted a "thaw inrelations" between Syria and Arab Gulf states in the coming days as morenations look to reopen their embassies in Damascus. Jarallah added the SyrianEmbassy in Kuwait has the leeway needed to look after the Syrian diaspora inthe country, which number around a quarter of a million people.
Arab states,including some that once backed rebels against President Bashar Al-Assad, areseeking to reconcile with him after decisive gains by his forces in the war,aiming to expand their clout in Syria at the expense of non-Arab Turkey andIran. The United Arab Emirates re-opened its embassy in Damascus last Thursdayand Bahrain said the next day that its embassy there and the Syrian diplomaticmission in Manama had been operating "without interruption".
Arab League'spermanent representatives are due to meet in Cairo on Jan 6. US-allied GulfArab states were the main regional backers of armed groups opposed to Assad,providing finance or weapons or both, acting largely as part of a program ofsupport for the armed opposition coordinated by Washington. Unlike its otherneighbors, Kuwait kept Syria's embassy in Kuwait open and opposed arming therebels, although private donors in Kuwait sent funds to anti-Assad forces.Kuwait has led a humanitarian fundraising campaign for Syria through the UnitedNations.
An Arab diplomat,speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters last week he believed amajority of members wanted Syria to be readmitted. Syria's membership of theArab League was suspended in 2011 in response to the government's violentcrackdown on "Arab Spring" protests. For Syria to be reinstated, theArab League must reach a consensus. - Agencies