Arab League Chief Nabil al-Arabi is due to visit Iraqi capital on Thursday in order to discuss the AL sanctions on Syria.

AL Chief Nabil al-Arabi

Arab League Chief Nabil al-Arabi is due to visit Iraqi capital on Thursday in order to discuss the AL sanctions on Syria.

Al-Arabi “will hold talks with (foreign minister) Hoshyar Zebari, particularly on Syria”, an Iraqi foreign ministry official told Agence France Press.

Zebari said late November that Baghdad expected a visit from Arabi to discuss an Arab League summit to be held in the Iraqi capital in March.

Iraqi FM Hoshyar Zebari

On November 27, the regional bloc imposed sanctions on the Syrian capital in order to set up a pressure on President Bashar al-Assad’s regime fo the alleged “deadly crackdown on anti-government protesters”.

However, Iraq has a different stance. It has abstained from the AL vote on sanctions.

Our position is mainly economic. There is a trade exchange between Iraq and Syria, and a joint border," Iraqi deputy foreign minister Labid Abbawi said, explaining Baghdad's decision to abstain.
"This decision will affect the people of Syria more than the regime," Abbawi said, but it "will have consequences for us as well as Syria."