The Iraqi Foreign Ministry denied submitting an invitation to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to attend the summit meeting of neighboring countries to be held at the end of this month in Baghdad.
And she explained in a statement that "the Iraqi government confirms that it is not concerned with this invitation, and that the official invitations are sent by an official letter and in the name of the Iraqi Prime Minister."
The statement pointed out that "no other party has the right to submit the invitation on behalf of the Iraqi government, so clarification was required."
The Iraqi Foreign Ministry’s clarification comes after the media reported that the head of the Popular Mobilization Authority, Faleh al-Fayyad, had handed an official invitation to Assad to attend the Baghdad summit, during a meeting that brought them together in Damascus.
For its part, the Popular Mobilization Authority said that its head handed al-Assad a letter of clarification from Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kazimi, regarding the reason for not inviting Damascus to attend the neighboring countries conference.
The commission stated, in a statement, that Al-Fayyad told Al-Assad during their meeting that the failure to invite the Syrian side to attend does not reflect Iraq's disregard for the Syrian government and its established position.
"It is an expression of keenness to make a conference a success through which we seek to provide understandings that help produce solutions to the region's problems with the participation of all the countries neighboring Iraq, and the Syrian problem is at the forefront of these problems," he added.
Over the past few days, Iraq has delivered official invitations to the leaders of Turkey, Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait and the UAE to attend the summit.
French President Emmanuel Macron also said, during a phone call with Al-Kazemi a week ago, that he would participate in the summit.
The Al-Kazemi government seeks to bring regional views closer, especially on issues related to Iraq, to distance it from the conflicts in the region and focus efforts to fight terrorism.
Baghdad also wants to strengthen its economic relations with neighboring countries and open the doors of Iraq for investment companies to enter, especially to set up projects in areas affected by the war against the Islamic State.