Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was "optimistic" today that a US-led war on Iraq could be avoided, after he held talks in Downing Street with British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
"I don't think our job is to expect or not to expect," said Mr Assad when asked, at a joint press conference with Mr Blair, about ongoing UN inspections for nuclear, chemical and biological weapons in Iraq.
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Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair greets President of Syria Al-Assad and his wife Asma in downing street.
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"But I'm optimistic now," he added. "Until now, what we see is good cooperation from the Iraqi government. We hope this cooperation will continue until this crisis is resolved peacefully."
Mr Blair said British officials were still examining Iraq's nearly 12,000-page declaration to the UN Security Council on weapons of mass destruction.
But he reiterated Britain's view that "if there is a breach (in Iraq's obligation to give up weapons of mass destruction), action will follow."
Mr Assad, who spent two years in Britain as a medical student, arrived in London yesterday to begin the first official visit to Britain by a Syrian leader.
AFP