LOC22:58
19:58 GMT
LONDON, March 20 (KUNA) -- Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Al Muallem
asserted the legitimacy of the GCC Peninsula Shield forces presence in Bahrain.
"Those forces are not occupation ones as they are dispatched in
implementation of joint security agreements signed by the Gulf Cooperation
Council member states," he explained.
"Bahrain's approval of the forces' entry itself legitimatizes their
presence in the kingdom," Muallem said in an interview with the pan-Arab
newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat Saturday.
The Syrian minister said he conveyed a message from the Syrian President
Bashar Al-Assad to his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during his
visit to Tehran last Thursday on current developments in the region mainly in
Bahrain.
Muallem said Syria and Iran are keen on preserving Bahrain's sovereignty
and independence and the need to boost security and stability there.
Both countries call for a constructive dialogue to achieve aspirations of
the Bahraini people and promote national unity.
He also hailed Bahraini royal initiative for dialogue with opposition over
all concerned issues. (end)
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KUNA 202258 Mar 11NNNN