"We skeptically view Washington's accusations addressed to Damascus," Interfax news agency quoted a high-ranking source with the ministry as saying.

"Washington claims that Iraqi politicians wanted by the American-British coalition are hiding in Syria, but it did not say either who is hiding or where they are hiding," another Interfax diplomatic source said.

High-ranking American officials recently accused Syria of harboring remnants of Saddam Hussein's regime and of possessing chemical weapons. US Secretary of State Colin Powell on Monday even threatened Damascus with economic, diplomatic and other sanctions.

US allegations "do not facilitate the normalization of the situation in Iraq and the region in general, including the Arab-Israeli peace process," a Russian diplomat noted.

Another Russian diplomat pointed out that the US charges against Syria might be the beginning of a campaign to prepare public opinion for a new military action.

Washington indicates that such an action is not being contemplated, "but we don't know what will happen tomorrow," he said.

The Syrian government has flatly rejected the US charges, insisting that it has no chemical weapons and was not providing shelters to figures from the Iraqi regime.

Spokesman for the Syrian Foreign Ministry Buthaina Shabaan on Monday denounced as "groundless" the accusations leveled by US officials.

Britain, the staunchest ally of the United States, said Monday that Syria was not the next target in the US and British campaign against weapons of mass destruction.

However, the accusations still triggered worries from the United Nations and some countries in the region.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan expressed serious concerns on Monday that the US accusations against Syria could destabilize the Middle East.

Annan welcomed recent clarifications in this regard and reiterated his strongly-held view that any claim of threats to international peace and security should be addressed in conformity with the provisions of the UN Charter.

(Xinhua News Agency April 16, 2003)