Assad set to give Blair war warning

Mr Blair received an embarrassing dressing down over the Afghan conflict from the Syrian leader when he made a ground-breaking visit to the capital Damascus last year.

A similar joint press conference between Mr Blair and Mr Assad is planned at No 10 before the Syrian president is given an audience with the Queen.

Speaking ahead of the visit, British officials pointedly said they would deliver “home truths - in private rather than public”.

But just days before his arrival, the Syrian President publicly warned war with Saddam Hussein would create “fertile soil for terrorism” across the Middle East.

While Syria backed the US-UK resolution on Iraqi disarmament adopted by the United Nations, the Arab country sees it as a method of avoiding US strikes on Iraq.

“The consequences (of war on Iraq) are not going to be contained within Iraq. The entire region will enter into the unknown,” Mr Assad said in an interview with The Times.

“We are a better judge of this because we live in the region. I think the bigger problem is that any country should interfere in the internal affairs of another country.”

Britain is keen for Syria to rein in the extremist pro-Palestinian groups operating in Damascus, a situation that has earned it a place on the US terror list.

An attack on Israel by one of these groups during the visit would be highly embarrassing for British officials.

But Mr Assad also defended Palestinian suicide bombings as “a reaction to the terrorism practised by [Ariel] Sharon against the civilian Palestinian people”.

Syrian diplomatic sources signalled no softening in that stance during their leader’s visit.

“I will tell you why Syria is looked at as intransigent, as a hard-line country, it is because it tries to do things properly,” a source said.

British diplomats hope that engagement with the Damascus regime will encourage modernisation within Syria and maintain a dialogue on the Middle East.

Officials denied the press conference “rematch” was an unnecessary gamble.

“We do not pretend to agree on every issue, but there is much we can, and do, achieve together. A candid dialogue is better than no dialogue at all,” a Foreign Office source said.

“No visit is going to be risk-free. The audience with the Queen is a courtesy that is offered to most heads of state.

“We think Syria could do a lot more to exert its influence to reform these people. We would much prefer to see this offices not enjoy the hospitality of Damascus.

“The perception is actually almost is important is the reality.”

But British hopes of liberalisation inside Syria may be unfounded.

Syrian sources said there was “a slow process of opening” but insisted “we have our traditions”.

“What is democracy? What are we talking about? I think each country would chart its own democratic process,” the source said.

No group would be allowed to threaten “national unity”, the source added.

Although Britain has concerns that Syria, like Iraq, may be developing chemical weapons, officials denied that there were double standards in welcoming Mr Assad to Downing Street.

“There is no single template of how we treat countries of proliferation concern,” one official said.

“Each must be treated as its behaviour merits. Iraq is a unique case: it is the only country to have used weapons of mass destruction against its own people and its neighbours.”