CAIRO, April 17: Syria will allow no inspections of its military arsenal or its territory to refute US accusations that it possesses chemical weapons, Foreign Minister Faruq al Shara said here on Thursday.

Damascus “will only contribute, with its (Arab) brothers and the countries of the whole world, to transforming the Middle East into a region devoid of all weapons of mass destruction, chemical, biological or nuclear,” Mr Shara said after talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

The foreign minister was responding to questions from reporters about whether Damascus would be ready to accept UN weapons inspections similar to those that took place in Iraq, but were brought to an end by the US-led invasion.

Following talks with Arab League chief Amr Mussa, he said: “We will not authorize anything illegal ... we respect the UN charter and will not abandon our independence or dignity.”

Two days before, the US had accused Syria of conducting a chemical weapons test during the past 15 months, and Secretary of State Colin Powell said officials would examine possible economic and diplomatic sanctions against Damascus.

While rejecting the accusations, Mr Shara adopted a moderate tone and repeated Syria’s desire for dialogue with the United States, saying Mr Powell was “welcome” to visit Damascus.

“I think dialogue between the two countries is of common interest,” he said.

Bussaina Shaaban, director of the foreign ministry’s information department, said later in an interview with Radio Monte Carlo that Colin Powell’s visit could take place in the second half of next week.

“We are in disagreement on certain points and in agreement on others, but that does not prevent in any way the pursuit of dialogue,” she said.

The United States has also accused Syria of smuggling war materiel into Iraq, and giving refuge to members of the toppled government, charges Syria has repeatedly denied.

“Relations between Baghdad and Damascus have not been good for many years,” Mr Shara said.

Syria was the only major Arab country to side with Iran in its 1980-1988 war with Iraq. The Syrian and former Iraqi leadership belong to rival branches of the nationalist and socialist-inspired Baath Party.

Faruq Shara said the US accusations were a bid to divert attention from “the large difficulties and problems facing US forces in Iraq”.

“The campaign (against Syria) could be aimed at serving Israeli interests,” said the Syrian minister, adding that some “fundamentalists in Washington say that Iraq could be a starting point to modify the geography of the region”.

He rejected US demands on Syria to stop lending support to Lebanon’s Hezbollah group.

“The Israeli occupation must end, then there will be no need to maintain the resistance organizations,” he said.

Asked about the possibility of the US vetoing the draft resolution, Mr Shara said: “It is foreseeable. We don’t exclude use of the veto, given the strategic ties between Israel and the United States.” —AFP

Our Correspondent in Washington adds: US Secretary of State Colin Powell is expected soon to visit Damascus for talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad, officials said on Thursday.

Mr Powell told reporters that the Bush administration had begun a “very vigorous diplomatic exchange” with Syria and that he expected “very candid and straightforward discussions” when he travelled to Damascus to meet with Assad and Foreign Minister Farouk al Sharaa.

He did not say when the visit would take place, but he indicated that it would be part of a broader trip designed to spur the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

Buthaina Shaaban, a spokeswoman for the Syrian Foreign Ministry, said Damascus would welcome a visit by Mr Powell and was willing to cooperate with the United States on the Iraqi issue.

But she said Damascus would not close the offices of radical Palestinian groups, one of Washington’s long-standing demands.