Al-Shara reviewed with Bulgarian counterpart tense conditions in the region

The Syrian foreign minister Farouk al-Shara on Sunday in Damascus received the Bulgarian foreign minister Solomon Basi and members of the accompanying delegation. The meeting was attended by high ranking officials representing the two sides..

Discussions during the meeting dealt with the tense conditions in the region as a result of the continued Israeli aggression against the Palestinians in the occupied territories.

In this regard, al-Shara stressed the need that the international community should carry out its assigned tasks in "putting an end to the Israeli arrogance and forcing it to abide by the international legitimacy." Al-Shara underlined the importance of strengthening the role played by the UN so as to be the main reference and the framework for dealing with various issues. Al-Shara also underlined the importance of Syria's cooperation with Bulgaria at the UN Security Council in implementing UN resolutions according to one criteria without double standards.

In a press conference he held on Sunday afternoon with Basi, al-Shara said that the two sides discussed several issues including the conditions in the occupied Palestinian territories and the Balkan area as well as bilateral relations between Syria and Bulgaria.

On his evaluation to Bulgaria's position concerning the situation in the region, al-Shara said that what he has heard from the Bulgarian minister stressed Bulgaria's desire to show better understanding to the prevailing conditions in the region, stressing the need of continued cooperation between Syria and Bulgaria in the framework of the UN Security Council so as to reach a better understanding for issues of concern to the two countries.

Replying to a question on what Syria expects from Bulgaria which will assume the presidency of the UN security council in September, al-Shara stressed that Syria's principles are built on the international resolutions issued by the UN.

For his part, Basi expressed his country's desire to strengthen its relations with Syria, noting that this is the first visit by a Bulgarian foreign minister to Syria since 10 years.

He said it is premature to talk about Bulgaria's position concerning the American threats against Iraq. He indicated that any position to this effect should be made within the framework of the UN Security Council.