Powell tours region early May, including Syria

US secretary of state Colin Powell has stressed he is looking forward for his next visit to Syria in the first week of May.

In a statement to the Lebanese daily Assafir issued yesterday, Powell said that his next visit to Syria is the third of its kind, stressing he will discuss during this visit all issues and differences between the two sides.

Powell stressed he is planning to maintain a fair and good dialogue during his visit to Damascus.

In a statement issued yesterday by the London- based al-Hayat daily, Powell said he expects cooperation from Syria, stressing that there is no need to direct a warning to Syria.

Meantime, the assistant of the US secretary of state for the European and Asian affairs Elizabeth Jones said that Powell will visit Syria because the US President George Bush wants to hold frank talks with her.

In a statement to a Portuguese daily, Jones said that you can make sure that what Powell says about Syria is the policy of President Bush concerning this country.