DAMASCUS, (SANA)- Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem on Wednesday described President Bashar al-Assad's talks with Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos as very constructive and fruitful.

Al-Moallem said at a press conference with Moratinos that the talks covered a wide range of issues on the region's affairs as well as relation with the EU and the distinguished relations with Spain.

Moratinos: Talks with President al-Assad fruitful... Spain supports Turkish mediation

Moratinos also described his talks with President al-Assad as "fruitful and constructive" saying that Spain, during its presidency of the EU, will make peace in the Middle East one of its priorities and will work with all sides to achieve peace in the region.

"Spain supports Turkish mediation in the indirect peace talks between Syria and Israel," Moratinos said, adding that this mediation is the best to push the peace process forwards.

He said his country will conduct a dialogue with Turkey on February 22 during a Spanish-Turkish summit and will work with Syria in this domain.

He added that his country is preparing well for the Union for the Mediterranean Summit in Barcelona next June and working to sign the EU-Syria Association Agreement during the Spanish presidency of the EU.

Al-Moallem... Israel shouldn't test Syria's determination

On the statements of the Israeli war Minister Ehud Barak about launching a war against Syria, al-Moallem underlined that "Israel sows the seeds of war in the region….Syria calls on Israel to halt launching threats once against Gaza, another against South Lebanon, then Iran and now Syria."

"Israel should not test Syria's determination… Israel knows that war will move to the Israeli cities….Israel has to commit to the just and comprehensive peace requirements."

As for the Israeli military drills, al-Moallem said "all armies do drills….This is an issue… They are either addressing an inner situation in Israel or they want to inflame the atmosphere of war in the region due to their failure to commit to peace requirements… but undoubtedly if we suppose that this war will break out, and we shouldn't rule out all potentials from an entity mainly founded on aggression… then I say that war will be all-out whether it hits south Lebanon or Syria, and I rule out our generation will witness peace talks later."

"The American role in the peace process is pivotal due to the nature of strategic relationship between the U.S. and Israel," al-Moallem said, adding, "for that reason we do not lose hope in this role if the United States wishes it to be constructive."

"At the same time, the European role in the peace process is essential for so many reasons; first of which, Europe is neighbor to our region and thus it gets directly influenced by war and peace whatsoever. Secondly, the European and U.S. roles complete each other whether it is during the stage of preparation for the resumption of negotiations or during them," the Minister added, pointing out to the importance of the European role due to Spain's presidency of the European Union.

Answering a question about the Iraqi elections, al Moallem said that these elections are a local issue and we will judge the results in light of the stance taken by any next Iraqi government concerning the relations with the neighboring countries, particularly with Syria.

Al-Moallem added " Syrian-Iraqi relations are not nowadays as we wish…Syria and Iraq signed an agreement on establishing a higher strategic cooperation council last August …We are still committed to that agreement because geography, history and the common fate make the integration of the two countries an inevitable thing that can't be ignored."

"Today, there is no justification at all for blocking that agreement which builds integration between the two countries, particularly due to the fact that the region after the signing of the agreement of strategic cooperation between Syria and Turkey is moving towards establishing a partnership zone in the Middle East built by its own peoples."

With regard to the next Arab Summit and its atmosphere, al-Moallem pointed out that during President Bashar al-Assad's visit to Libya many issues of interest for the Arab nation were the main focus of discussions, the most important of which was the ongoing Judaization of Jerusalem and the Palestinian cause in addition to finding a mechanism for solving the Arab differences.

Answering a question on the deployment of U.S. missile system in the Gulf, he said" Syria has a very clear stance towards the political dialogue that would lead to a solution between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency…Syria is against any military escalation and any threat of using power to solve this issue."

He also asserted Iran's right to possess nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, pointing out that at the same time to Israel's military nuclear capabilities, saying "We criticize the West for having double standers"

On the Palestinian reconciliation, al-Moallem reiterated Syria's declared firm stance towards achieving reconciliation for protecting the Palestinian cause, pointing out to the efforts exerted by Syria to help the parties achieve the reconciliation and Syria's relentless work for reaching this aim, expressing hope that the Palestinians would be able to achieve the reconciliation that is first and foremost the decision of the Palestinians, saying "we must encourage them to take this decision."

Answering a question on the siege imposed on Gaza Strip, al-Moallem said "Syria is against the siege imposed on Gaza…We constantly call for lifting the siege imposed on more than one million and a half million Palestinians…Every state in the international community must work on lifting that siege."

On whether the agreement of the Syrian-European partnership would be signed during Spain presidency of EU, he said "We hope to reach a joint understanding through the upcoming discussions with the European Commission that would enable us to sign the agreement during the Spanish presidency."

As for nominating a new American Ambassador to Syria, he said "The US has nominated a new Ambassador to Syria and this is an American sovereign issue that is considered … Syria has also a sovereign right to study accepting the nomination."

Answering a question on whether he sensed that Israeli officials were ready for peace, Moratinos said "I think that we and America are responsible for helping and facilitating negotiations …We are considering the way through which we can work regarding the Turkish mediation."

He added that the Israeli officials are trying to take a decision on the way of using the Turkish mediation and continuing with it in addition to overcoming the misunderstanding between Turkey and Israel.

On the EU stance towards the siege imposed on Gaza Strip, he said that the European stance is clear in this regard, voicing support for the Palestinian people in the Strip and seeking to bring necessary aid to ease the sufferings in Gaza.

On the Palestinian state, Moratinos said that EU's stance is clear and wants a two-state solution, expressing hope of establishing a Palestinian sovereign State to achieve the aspirations of the Palestinian people, which is one of the priorities of the Spanish presidency of the EU.

As for the American role in the peace process and the Israeli war threats, Moatinos said the EU and USA work on a complementary basis, communicate on coordination and exert efforts to push this process forward.

"I was in Israel and I did not hear any beat of war drums …What we should do is to commit to the peace …The EU is working for the resumption of the peace negotiations." he added.

R.Milhem/R.Jazaeri/ I. Al Kazhali/ Mazen Eyon/ F.Zahra