Syria Welcomes Bush's Remarks, Calling for Dialogue

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, April 22, 2003

Syria Welcomes Bush's Remarks, Calling for Dialogue

Syria on Monday welcomed the tuning down of US President George W. Bush's charges against Damascus, while calling for dialogue with Washington to resolve their disputes.

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Syria on Monday welcomed the tuning down of US President George W. Bush's charges against Damascus, while calling for dialogue with Washington to resolve their disputes.

"We welcome Bush's statement and take it seriously. We hope thatthis statement will be the beginning of a serious, fruitful and constructive dialogue between Syria and the United States," ForeignMinister Farouk al Shara said at a joint press conference with his Spanish counterpart Ana Palacio.

He was responding to the statements made by Bush, who said Sunday that Syria was "beginning to get the message" sent by Washington not to harbor fleeing Iraqi fugitives.

"I'm confident the Syrian government has heard us, and I believeit when they say they want to cooperate with us," Bush said after attending an Easter Sunday church service at the Fort Hood army base in Texas.

Tensions rose dramatically over the past week between Syria and the United States, which charged Damascus for providing military support to the demised Iraqi regime, sheltering top Iraqi fugitivesand possessing chemical weapons.

The US charges have led to fears that Syria might become the next target of US military actions in the region after the downfallof the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein early this month.

But Shara was confident that Syria and the United States could settle their disputes peacefully, citing the two sides have managedto maintain a dialogue despite their differences.

He stressed that Syria is "a stabilizing factor in the Middle East," because it had worked for a just and comprehensive peace in the region for the past 20 years.

Damascus did not support Iraq for its 1980 invasion of Iran and that of Kuwait 10 years later, and had supported the 1989 Taef accord which put an end to civil war in Lebanon, Shara noted.

Palacio, on her part, described her meeting with Syrian President Bashar al Assad earlier in the day as "constructive."

She said that although they disagreed on the foreign presence inIraq, the Spanish-Syrian relationship will remain strong and the they will continue consultations on various issues. "We have a common will to overcome difficulties that may arise," she said.

She added that they agreed on the need to safeguard Iraq's territorial integrity and that need to let Iraqis govern themselvesand take charge of their own affairs, especially their oil.

Palacio arrived in Damascus earlier Monday as part of an Arab tour. Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, one of Washington's strongest supporters over the war in Iraq, said last week that Syria would not be the target of military action.

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