"I think it will be better to make a constructive statement to see if we can cool off and cool down the situation," Solana

LUXEMBOURG , April 14 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – As the United States ratcheted up its bellicose rhetoric against Syria recently, the European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana urged Monday, April 14, the U.S. to "cool down" its "daily" threats against Iraq ’s western country.

For the first time since the fall of the Iraqi regime, E.U. foreign ministers met Monday in Luxembourg in a bid to come together in a possible role in post-war Iraq , Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

"The region is going through a very difficult process and I think it will be better to make a constructive statement to see if we can cool off and cool down the situation," said Solana.

Asked if this was a call to the United States to temper its pressure on Syria , he said: "That is my suggestion."

He was speaking after U.S. President George W. Bush said Sunday, April 13, that Syria has chemical weapons, and warned Damascus anew that it must "cooperate" with Washington .

But Solana said he was concerned by the warnings.

"In a region which is so convulsed, the best thing to do is to make positive statements, not negative declarations," he said, referring implicitly to Bush.

The Spanish EU official said he hoped the two-day meeting -- at which Britain 's Jack Straw was a notable absentee -- would enable a "solid debate" on the Iraq issue.

"It's a moment to make balance of what has been going on and to begin to take decisions," he said, forecasting the talks would "get a sense of where we are  ... I don't think that today will take very fundamental decisions."

The 15 current EU leaders including British Prime Minister Tony Blair will meet informally on the margins of Wednesday’s, April 16, session, hoping to put behind them the rows that dominated the build-up to the war against Iraq.

For now, diplomats said, the Luxembourg meeting will confine itself to discussing how the EU can help in getting aid to the Iraqi people.

The European Commission -- the EU's executive arm -- has begun to channel 21 million euros in humanitarian relief money and is pressing the member states to release another 79 million.

For its part, the Syrian embassy in Washington rejected Bush’s charge.

"There is a campaign of false information and disinformation against Syria which began even before the war", the embassy's deputy ambassador Imad Mustapha told NBC television.

“ Syria Not Next On List”

However, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said Monday Syria is not next on the list after Iraq but there are questions it must answer, including whether it has chemical weapons.

"We made it clear that it is not and the British prime minister made it clear last week that there is no plan for Syria to be on the list," Straw told reporters on a tour of Gulf states.

But "there are questions which the Syrians need to answer. What we believe, there is an important agenda for discussions with the Syrian government," said Straw before flying to Kuwait .

Straw added that junior foreign minister Mike O'Brien was going to Damascus on Monday, noting that Prime Minister Tony Blair spoke on the telephone last week with President Bashar al-Assad.

The foreign secretary himself had talks with Syrian Foreign Minister Farouq al-Shara on Friday.

Straw later told BBC radio: "I think what is important is that Syria agrees to sit down with the United States and United Kingdom and actively cooperate over these questions that have been raised over their current relations with Iraq."

He urged Damascus "to fully cooperate over these questions that have been raised about the fact some fugitives from Iraq may well have fled into Syria and other matters, including whether they have in fact been developing any illegal chemical or biological programmes."

Straw also called for "good neighbourly relations with Iran ", which forms part of a U.S.-branded "axis of evil" along with Saddam's Iraq and North Korea .

"We are grateful to the Iranians for the support and cooperation which they which gave during the course of this military conflict," he said.

But British Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon expressed “fears” Monday that Syria might use fleeing Iraqi experts to pursue its own interest in developing weapons of mass destruction, but insisted on keeping up dialogue with Damascus .

"We are concerned about Syria . We are anxious about the effort (to develop weapon of mass destruction) they have made in the past," Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon told a press briefing.

"We are anxious that they should not take advantage of any scientific or military figures crossing the border," he said, adding however: "It's important to maintain the dialogue with Syria at this stage."

Israel Warns Syria

In another development, a top Israeli official on Monday warned Syria not to "play with fire" after Syrian Foreign Minister Faruq al-Shara made a strong anti-Israeli statement amid strains between Washington and Damascus .

" Israel is not looking for an escalation with Syria but Damascus is playing with fire by threatening us with its terror arsenal," a senior official close to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told AFP.

"We warned Syria against the temptation to attack us during the war in Iraq . That would be an even greater mistake for them after the victory of the coalition" said the official, who asked not to be named.

Shara said Sunday that if the United States decides to attack Syria , Israel will also be harmed.

The Israeli official said that at this stage Israel , which occupies the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, was restricting itself to "supporting U.S. efforts to stop Syrian support for terrorism."

Syria 's ambassador to Washington protested Friday against the "concerted campaign" by the United States and Israel against Damascus over its alleged support for Iraq .   

Saudi FM Makes Surprise Visit To Syria

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal discussed Iraqi security and sovereignty Monday with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during an impromptu visit to Damascus , the official SANA news agency said.

Their talks focused on "efforts by Iraq 's neighbors to restore security and stability and to preserve the (country's) territorial integrity" SANA said.

Syrian Foreign Minister Farouq al-Shara took part in the discussions, it added.

Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa dismissed the allegations of Syrian support for Saddam Hussein's regime as groundless, the official Syrian daily Tishrin said Monday.

"The United States and major powers should use their military force on behalf of the Palestinian cause and end the Israeli occupation of Arab lands," it quoted Moussa as saying.