Spain's FM stresses al-Assad's forthcoming visit to Spain

Spain's Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos has stressed the importance of President Bashar al-Assad's forthcoming visit to Spain scheduled to start at the beginning of next June in response to an invitation of the new Spanish government.

In a statement in Madrid on Friday Moratinos criticized the US sanctions imposed on Syria describing them as "negative." "Sanctions don't ensure the appropriate climate for a constructive understanding but they increase factors of tension in the region." Moratinos said.

Moratinos stressed the necessity for approving the Syria-European Association Agreement noting that Europe and Spain have to work together to stand by Syria as a Euro-Mediterranean partner, "They have to develop and defend the fruitful relations with Syria.." Earlier, Moratinos, during a phone call with Foreign Minister Farouk al-Shara, welcomed President al-Assad's response to the invitation directed to him by the new Spanish government.