DAMASCUS, 22 April 2003 — Syria welcomed yesterday an apparent softening of US charges against Damascus, with a visit by Spanish Foreign Minister Ana Palacio providing timely cover from one of Washington’s closest allies.

Palacio and Syrian President Bashar Assad also voiced support for the United Nations to retain a key role in efforts to establish global peace and security, the official Sana news agency reported.

At a press conference with his Spanish counterpart early in the day, Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk Shara said: “We welcome the recent statement by President (George W.) Bush and I would like to add that Syria from the beginning never wanted confrontation but dialogue with the USA.”

Shara referred to comments by Bush on Sunday that the United States had assurances Syria would not harbor fleeing war criminals from neighboring Iraq.

Bashar and Palacio, meanwhile, called for the United Nations “to regain its effective and positive role for security and peace in the world,” Sana said.

“Syria supports solutions which guarantee the interests of Arab people and resolutions on international legality,” it quoted Bashar as saying.

The Spanish minister’s visit came as the US administration appeared to tone down criticism of Damascus, which Washington has charged possesses chemical weapons, smuggled military equipment into Iraq and provided sanctuary for associates of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

On Sunday, Bush said in Texas: “I’m confident the Syrian government has heard us, and I believe it when they say they want to cooperate with us.”

Shara told media yesterday without giving details: “We have completely closed the border with Iraq and no one is authorized to cross without a visa.”

Previously, Iraqis could cross the 600-km (480-mile) border without a Syrian entry visa.

The minister declined comment on a claim by the Iraqi National Congress that Saddam Hussein’s wanted son-in-law surrendered to the exile group after returning from Syria.

The INC said Sunday that Jamal Mustafa Sultan Al-Tikriti had fled to Syria but was persuaded by the exile group to return to Baghdad and give himself up to US authorities.

Asked about the report, Shara said: “Don’t expect me to answer this question...We have sealed off the borders...If you have any questions about people crossing the border, you better ask the Customs and Immigration people, not the Syrian Foreign Ministry.”

Spanish Foreign Minister Palacio said there had been “no Spanish mediation between Syria and the US. Syrian-American relations don’t need an intermediary.”

She referred to the US accusations, saying: “Statements against Syria do not reflect the Spanish view. My government thinks that some statements are not helpful.”

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, one of Washington’s staunchest supporters over the war in Iraq, said last week that Syria would not be the target of military action and that the conflict in Iraq should not spread to neighboring countries.

Palacio said: “Syria and Spain share a pragmatic attitude and want to create a common ground to work for the future and welfare of Iraq.

“Syria proved to be responsible, pragmatic and constructive in the UN Security Council in voting the 1441 resolution” which mandated arms inspectors in November to search for Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.

Syria is currently the only Arab member on the UN Security Council, where Spain also holds a non-permanent seat.

Conservatives in the Bush administration have suggested the UN should not play a leading role in rebuilding Iraq, after Washington failed to win Security Council backing for the war.

Shara defended his country’s policies yesterday, maintaining that for the past 20 years Syria worked for a just and comprehensive peace in the region and that it had been “a stabilizing factor in the Middle East”.

Damascus did not back Baghdad during its 1980 invasion of Iran, nor that of Kuwait 10 years later, and supported the 1989 Taif accord which put an end to civil war in Lebanon, the foreign minister said.