Al-Assad British and Japanese officials regarding Iraq

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad received on Wednesday British Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Mike O'Brian who handed President Assad a letter from British Prime Minister Toni Blair connected with the Iraqi issue.

President al-Assad stressed that Syria has exerted efforts to avoid an aggressive war on Iraq and to save integrity and sovereignty of the Iraq territories.

President al-Assad also affirmed the necessity for making the Middle East free of mass destruction weapons including Israel, and for the implementation of the UN Security Council resolution regarding the Arab Israeli conflict.

Earlier, President Assad received Japanese Prime Minister Special Envoy Taro Nakayama and an accompanying delegation. Talks during the meeting dealt with the developments in the region.

President Assad stressed that Syria will not support any military act against Iraq but Syria works to prevent it stressing the important role of Japan to influence the Unites States to solve this crisis peacefully.

For his part Taro asserted that Japan will not participate in any military act against Iraq.