The world is watching Syria closely after last week's Tel Aviv suicide bombing, and Damascus must meet "certain obligations" at a time of change in the Middle East, according to the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair.
"The concerns over Syria are well known," Mr Blair said in an interview with the Guardiannewspaper published today, adding to US diplomatic pressure on Damascus.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair
"I think they have to realise that the international community is looking at Syria very closely at the moment ... For Syria, it is important to realise that the international community expects certain obligations to be undertaken and adhered to."
Mr Blair stopped short of explicitly linking Syria to the suicide bombing. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said yesterday there was "firm evidence" that the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad was involved in planning the attack from its Syrian base, but "we don't know the degree of Syrian involvement."
Syria has denied any involvement in the blast, which undermined a truce declared by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon at a February 8th summit in Egypt.
Washington has ratcheted up the pressure on Syria, which it accuses of being a destabilising influence in the region. The United States withdrew its ambassador to Damascus last month to register its unhappiness after former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri was assassinated in a car bomb attack blamed by many Lebanese on Syria.
A top US commander in the Middle East accused Syria yesterday of not doing enough to stop foreign fighters from crossing its border into Iraq.