Beirut - German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said Friday that dialogue with Damascus is crucial if Europe wants to move closer to solving the Middle East conflict. In an interview with the London-based Al Hayat newspaper, published Friday, Westerwelle said Germany was seeking "a comprehensive peace solution which also takes in other spheres of conflict in the Middle East," such as Israel and Syria from one side and Israel and Lebanon on the other. The German minister was due to arrive in Beirut later Friday to hold talks with Lebanese officials. His Middle East tour will take him to Egypt, Amman and Syria after Lebanon. In reference to Lebanon, Westerwelle said, "Germany has been helping Lebanon to secure its land and maritime borders. At the same time we are supporting the country's reconstruction following the (Israeli-Hezbollah) war in the summer of 2006." Touching on the improved ties between Lebanon and Syria, Westerwelle told Al Hayat, "Syria has to take more constructive steps despite normalization of relations with Lebanon." Relations between Lebanon and Syria soured after the 2005 assassination of former Prime minister Rafik Hariri, when Damascus was accused by Hariri's allies of plotting his murder. Syria denies the accusation. Relations improved after current premier and son of the late premier, Saad Hariri, visited Syria last December and mended ties. Earlier this week the Kuwaiti newspaper As-Seyassah reported that a German envoy will visit Beirut and Damascus soon to relay "Israel's unwillingness to remain silent on the tens of thousands of missiles that threaten its security." Although it is a reiteration of Israel's opposition to Hizbollah's growing stash of arms - which Israel sees as a threat that cannot be adequately combated with existing anti-missile defence systems - the statement implies Israel is willing to pursue a wider measures to try to control the spread of weapons under Hizbollah's command. A Lebanese military expert who requested anonymity told the German Press Agency dpa on Tuesday that Israel has lately called on several countries like France and Germany to intervene to exert pressure on Syria and Lebanon to stop the arms shipments to Hizbollah. Hizbollah chief Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah has vowed to continue building up the arsenal controlled by his movement as a way to ward off potential Israeli aggression. Hizbollah, which is backed by Syria and Iran and is represented in Lebanon's parliament, fought a fierce war with Israel in 2006 that destroyed much of southern Lebanon. The party is the only faction which refused to disarm after Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war ended. Israel has voiced concerns after it reported that Hizbollah has received several shipments of Scud missiles from Syria through the Lebanese border, a charge Damascus has denied. Hizbollah argues that its weapons are needed to protect the country against Israel, which withdrew its troops from south Lebanon in 2000 after a 22-year occupation. UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the 33-day war in 2006 between Israel and Lebanon, has called for the disarming of Hizbollah. Germany is part of the United Nations Maritime Task Force, which under UN resolution 1701, monitors the Lebanese coast to prevent any arms shipments to Hizbollah.
