Al-Assad meets with Finnish foreign minister

Syrian President Hafez al-Assad received Finnish Foreign Minister Tarja Halonen, whose country currently presides over the European Union, on Thursday at the Damascus al-Shaab palace.

Halonen conveyed greetings of Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari together with an invitation message to President al-Assad.

Talks dealt with the situation in the region and the current condition of the Middle East peace process.

Halonen said that the EU backs Middle East peace and hopes to play a complementary role in this process that encourages the concerned parties. She expressed her appreciation for Syria's positive position toward Middle East peace.

President al-Assad welcomed the desire of the EU to play a complementary and helping role in Middle East peace. He added that, "Syria has chosen peace and worked for it and always called for an effective European role in order to help the peace process reach its set objective."

Members of the accompanying delegation and the EU-Middle East peace process envoy, Miguel Angel Moratinos, attended the meeting. Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa and the Finnish ambassador in Damascus also attended the meeting.

Meanwhile, a round of official talks was held on Thursday on the premises of the Syrian Foreign Ministry in Damascus chaired by al-Sharaa and Halonen. Talks dealt with the development of conditions in the region, the European role in the Middle East, bilateral relations between Syria and Finland, relations with the European Union and the importance of developing these relations in various fields.

Halonen described her talks with al-Sharaa as good and friendly, and the talks were characterized as being frank.

In statements to reporters following the meeting, she said that talks also concentrated on bilateral relations between Syria and the European Union and means of developing and strengthening them as well as the Middle East peace process under recent developments.

Later in the day, the Finnish FM left Damascus following a two-day visit to the country. In a pre-departure statement to SANA she said her talks with President Hafez al-Assad were "very important, frank and friendly. We talked about conditions in the region, the Middle Eastpeace process and latest developments."

Replying to a question on the role of the European Union in Middle East peace, Halonen said, "I think the EU plays a positive role in the region and that our main objective is to establish peace in this region. The countries of the EU are part of the Mediterranean basin. We have come to the region, because we are part of it, a matter which makes our stand different from that of the US. The EU backs stability and prosperity for the interest of the region, in general."

She continued, "We in the EU will continue the relentless efforts we have already started in the past and exert today and in the future through strengthening economic and trade ties with the countries of the region."

Halonen stressed that important decisions are always in the hands of leaders of the region.