Damascus,SANA_ President Bashar al-Assad on Tuesday said it was necessary for the EU member countries to outline the nature of the role they want to play in the Middle East and hold dialogue in this framework with the countries of the region and the influential powers in the world.

The remarks came during President al-Assad meeting's with High Representative of the EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Baroness Catherine Ashton.

Talks during the meeting dealt with the EU role in the region as President al-Assad and Baroness Ashton exchanged viewpoints on the possibility of activating the EU role in the region.

Syrian-EU relations were also on the table with both sides stressing keenness to boost these relations in all domains. Baroness Ashton expressed the EU willingness to go ahead with pushing forward the partnership process between Syria and the EU.

There was also agreement that experts from both sides meet to discuss issues and reservations which hinder signing the Partnership Agreement between the two sides.

The situation in the Middle East and the peace process were also discussed, with Ashton emphasizing the EU determination to double efforts and work with all parties in the region to make progress in the peace process to reach comprehensive regional peace for the interest of security and stability in the Middle East and the world as a whole.

Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem, Presidential Political and Media Advisor Bouthaina Shaaban , Assistant Foreign Minister Abdul-Fattah Ammoura, Director General of Europe Department at the Foreign Ministry Radwan Lutfi and EU ambassador to Syria Vassilis Bontosoglou attended the meeting.

In this framework, al-Moallem held a meeting with Ashton attended by Amoura and Directors of Information and Europe Departments at the Foreign Ministry.

In a joint press conference, al-Moallem described President al-Assad's meeting with Ashton as fruitful and constructive, during which the Syrian-European relations, mainly with regard to the Association Agreement, were reviewed.

He added that President al-Assad's talks with Ashton also tackled means of reviving the peace process on various tracks, stressing that viewpoints were in agreement that the Israeli settlement policy under the current Israeli government is a main obstacle to the resumption of peace talks. Al-Moallem said Ashton will leave Syria heading to the occupied territories and is due to visit Gaza, which will be a pivotal stop to inspect the suffering of the Palestinians after a thousand-day-long siege.

Al-Moallem hoped that Ashton will return to Damascus after closely inspecting regional situations. For her part, Ashton said "It was my great honor to meet President Bashar al-Assad. We held vital and positive talks especially in relation with the European role in resuming Mideast peace process. I am looking forward to holding more such discussions on my next visit to the region."

"This is my first visit to Syria, and it won't be the last. I am here now because the EU is well aware of the importance of Syria for the region and for achieving peace in the Middle East."

Baroness Ashton said stability in the region is a key priority for the EU and that resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict is essential for solving other conflicts.

She reiterated that the EU wants to achieve security and stability in the region and to promote bilateral relations.

She expressed hope that the current talks seeking to restart negotiations on the Syrian-EU Association Agreement would result in completing these negotiations and achieving fruitful outcomes.

Al-Moallem described as "precise" the statement recently issued by Hizbollah on Walid Jumblatt's expected visit to Damascus.

Asked about any developments about resuming indirect peace talks with Israel under the Turksh mediation, al-Moallem said "We trust the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. However, we have not received anything officially from Turkey in this regard."

In an answer to a question about a possible date to sign the Syrian-EU Association Agreement, al-Moallem said "One of the fruits of Ashton's visit is the unofficial meeting taking place today at the Foreign Ministry between the EU commissioner in charge of this file and the Syrian side."

"Afterwards, the EU Commissioner will be heading a delegation to Syria to hold official negotiations on the points of concern that Syria has," he added.

Al-Moallem said Syria wants an Association Agreement which is based on equal footing and ensures non-interference in Syria's internal affairs.

"President al-Assad made it clear that the association is not limited to the economic dimension. It has a political dimension as well; therefore, it needs to be a real association."

Al-Moallem said setting a date to sign the Association depends on the extent of flexibility both sides would show in the coming negotiations.

Al-Moallem said Syria has been working to consolidate Arab solidarity in order to reach a common Arab vision, adding that the Arab summit is an important opportunity towards reaching such a vision.

"It is important to have a clear unified Islamic American and European stance that makes the Israelis feel they will really lose if they continue to disrupt the peace process and construct new settlements," he added.

Asked about whether things might come back on track between Syria and Egypt in light of the Syrian-Egyptian Business meeting being held in Damascus, al-Moallem said "Damascus has welcomed the Egyptian Minister of Industry and Trade. The Businessmen Forum reflects the decision of the leaderships of both countries to maintain economic relations in the interest of their people."

On Arab reconciliation, al-Moallem said that Syria proposed a working paper at the Arab forthcoming Summit for achieving Arab solidarity with a mechanism to resolve Arab differences.

"We think that realizing Arab solidarity requires achieving this reconciliation, but this depends on the political will of the Arab leaderships; we, in Syria, believe that Arab solidarity in this delicate stage is very important and we will work in the framework of this approach," he added. 

For her part, Ashton answered a question on what she previously stated in respect to settlement being an obstacle in face of the peace process resumption, and said …"The most important issue is pushing the two sides to hold indirect talks…European Union (EU) took a clear stance concerning that…It is my first visit to the region and our efforts are concentrated on means of using the political and economic influence of the EU in order to push the two sides to resume negotiations.

On a EU's possible role concerning the Israeli the one thousand day old siege imposed on 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza, and especially that Ashton is scheduled to visit Gaza, she said …"We are providing aid to Gaza and the goal of my visit is to see how affective it is; it is not only important what I see in Gaza but also important what I am going convey to the EU …As I said the goal of my visit is to find other ways which can help us play a more vital role.

On whether there is a form of coordination between Turkey and EU about resumption of peace process, Ashton said "We explore with Turkey ways for resuming the peace process and we are aware of Turkey's important role in the indirect talks… we discussed that with Turkish Foreign Minister…and I will discuss it with him once I turn back …I absolutely realize the pivotal role Turkey is playing and the importance of Turkish-EU relations.

On Israel's continuation of constructing new settlements and whether EU would press Israel to stop that, Ashton said that "what I said was that a solution a solution should be reached through negotiations because they are the only way for reaching solution…our EU stance is clear on this subject …I previously talked about it at the European Parliament and I issued an official statement which defined our stance regarding settlement but at the same time we have to assert that halting settlement is very important to reach a solution.

On whether there is a new European stance with regards to realizing just and comprehensive peace in the region, Ashton confirmed EU's commitment to achieve security and stability in the Middle East equal to its commitment to achieve security and peace in Europe.

R. Jazaeri/R. Raslan / Zahra/M. Ismael/ R. Milhem/Idelbi /Haifa