Speaking in New York to the Dubai-based Al-Arabiya news channel, Al-Duri did not name the country, but repeatedly praised Syria for standing by Iraq in the crisis with the United States, which ended with US forces invading the country and bringing Saddam's 24-year rule to an end.

"Iraq is my smaller homeland, and the Arab world from Mauritania to Oman is my greater homeland," he said, paraphrasing the description of the Arab world as stretching "from the Atlantic to the Gulf."

"Hence, pending the liberation of my country (from US forces) and until matters (stabilize), I will go to any place in the Arab world, while promising myself to return to my country," said Al-Duri, who was a teacher before becoming a diplomat.

At one point he broke into tears when speaking of the chaos into which Iraq has plunged since government forces suddenly disappeared from Baghdad on Wednesday. He singled out Syria and Russia for praise while also referring positively to other UN Security Council members that opposed the US-British war on Iraq launched March 20.

US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld charged on Wednesday that senior Iraqi leaders were fleeing to Syria, which he said was continuing to send military assistance into Iraq.

Asked if he thought Damascus would be next on Washington's hit list, Al-Duri said Syria had irked the United States by adopting "principled stands dictated by inter-Arab bonds" during the Iraq crisis.

"I do not know the nature of the assistance extended by Syria, but I am confident that this assistance did not exceed the limits which Syria knows (it must abide by).

"At the same time, I see that Syria has flung its doors wide open to Iraq since the beginning of the crisis," he added.

The United States will try to use the Syrian position as a pretext to achieve longstanding objectives in the Middle East, including seizing the region's oil resources and controlling its economy, he charged.

Al-Duri said there was no legal problem over his presence in New York since he represented a state, not an individual, adding that UN Secretary General Kofi Annan had offered him "moral support" and expressed readiness to help if any problem arose.

He held a 30-minute meeting with Annan on Thursday.

SPACE.WIRE