DAMASCUS, Syria, May 13 (UPI) -- Israeli threats of war are based on a policy of aggression and do little to advance the cause for peace, the Syrian president said Thursday.
Syrian President Bashar Assad met Thursday with Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos to discuss regional developments in the Middle East.
Assad said Israeli aggression in the region and threats of war undermine security and block regional peace efforts, the official Syrian Arab News Agency reports.
Border tensions between Lebanon and Israel have simmered since the 2006 conflict between Hezbollah and the Israeli military. Israel claimed recently that Syria transferred long-range Scud missiles to Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon. U.N. peacekeepers, however, said they have no evidence of Scud missiles in their area of operations in southern Lebanon.
Assad told the Spanish minister that the European Union had a vital role to play in mediating talks between Syria, Israel and their neighbors. Spain holds the rotating presidency of the European Union.
