TRIPOLI - Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said on Sunday that Damascus was ready for regional war and will respond "immediately" to any Israeli attack.
"We will respond to any Israeli aggression immediately," he said on his arrival in Lebanon for an Arab foreign ministers' meeting on Israel's devastating 26-day-old offensive against its northern neighbour.
Asked by reporters in the main northern city of Tripoli about the possibility of a regional war, Muallem said: "Welcome to the regional war."
It was the first visit by a Syrian official of his rank to Lebanon since Damascus pulled out its troops from its smaller neighbor in April 2005.
08/06/2006 12:39 GMT