Al-Sharaa confers with EU Middle East peace envoy

Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa on Monday in Damascus received the European Union EU ME peace process special envoy Miguel Moratinos and members of his accompanying delegation.

Talks dealt with the European role concerning the stalemate in the Middle East peace process. Talks also dealt with Syrian-European relations and the importance of strengthening them in various areas.

Moratinos has asserted that the EU is very interested in playing a more active and effective role in giving the Middle East peace process a push forward. In a statement he made on Monday following his meeting with al-Sharaa, the EU envoy said his talks dealt with contacts he has made to find ways and means to resume talks on the Syrian track, as well as preparations for the important visit to be held by European officials on behalf of the European Union to the region on February 10 - 14.

The EU envoy stressed the unity of the Syrian and Lebanese tracks in the Middle East peace process, adding that the European viewpoints assert that the two tracks are inseparable and that: "We have to move on the Syrian and Lebanese tracks."