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Syrian President Bashir Al-Assad with Javier Solana, the EU's foreign policy.
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BRUSSELS (EJP)---The EU’s foreign policy Javier Solana started Sunday a four-day Middle East tour with a visit to Damascus, Syria.
Solana will also visit Israel, the Palestinian Territories, Egypt and Lebanon in the context of the major push by the international community towards a resolution of the Israeli-Arab conflict, his office said.
In Damascus, Solana met Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad and Foreign Minister Walid Al-Mouallem.
"Syria is working for a fair and global peace based on UN Security Council resolutions 242 and 338," Assad was quoted as saying by SANA state news agency.
Speaking in a press conference with Solana, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem stressed that "the Palestinian dossier takes precedence," whether it is "freezing settlements, lifting the blockade on Gaza or making east Jerusalem Jewish."
On Monday, Solana will visit Israel for meetings with President Shimon Peres,
Prime Minister Benjamin Nentanyahu, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, DefenceMinister Ehud Barak and Tzipi Livni, leader of the opposition Kadima party.
Solana, whose official title is "EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy", is He will later meet in Ramallah Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.
He will also meet Colonel Alain Faugeras, head of EUBAM Rafah, and Chief Constable Paul Robert Kernnaghan, head of EUPOL COPPS.
In Beirut, on Tuesday, the EU’s official will meet representatives of the Lebanese authorities, including President Michel Sleimane, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri and Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh.
In Cairo, on Tuesday evening, he will meet Amr Moussa, secretary-general
of the Arab League and on Wednesday he will meet Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.