US Representative Tom Lantos, the senior Democrat on the House of Representatives International Relations Committee, urged Syria to cut support to Lebanon's Hizbullah. He said the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq was a "historic opportunity" to improve Syrian-US ties, but conditioned this on Damascus ending support for what he calls "terrorism."

"I hope it (Syria) will not flounder on continued misguided policies like military support for Hizbullah or the maintenance of terrorist headquarters in Damascus," Lantos told reporters after talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

"The Syrian government can close the terrorist headquarters and put an end to supplying Hizbullah by military means tomorrow morning," said Lantos, from California.

"If it chooses to do so the Syrian people will be infinitely better off in the months and years ahead."

Lantos said he would push for sanctions if Syria did not comply with calls to cease support for what he calls "terrorism."

He called on Assad to take the opportunity to improve ties with Washington.

"I told (Assad) that Syria's position in the U.S. dropped dramatically as we saw the transfer of military equipment from and through Syria to Iraq, and a large number of Syrian fighters joining a doomed and dying regime in Iraq," Lantos said.

"This was a very bad and historic mistake, and the time is long overdue to correct the course of Syria's policy," he added.

Lantos is a co-sponsor of the proposed Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act in the House of Representatives.

That bill, if enacted, would demand that Syria "immediately and unconditionally halt support for terrorism, permanently and openly declare its total renunciation of all forms of terrorism, and close all terrorist offices and facilities in Syria, including the offices of Hamas, Hizbullah, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command."

Lantos said "I will have to make a decision ... whether to move it onto the agenda or whether to delay or even abandon it. This will depend on the actions of the Syrian government."

During his meeting with Assad, which Lantos described as "extremely candid and extremely cordial," the congressman also urged the Syrian leader to withdraw his country's soldiers from Lebanon.

He also expressed concern about the human rights situation in Syria, notably the jailing of MPs, journalists and academics.

PHOTO CAPTION

U.S. Congressman Tom Lantos, D-Ca., speaks at a press conference after meeting Syrian President Bashar Assad on Saturday, April 26, 2003 in Damascus. Lantos, a member of the international relations committee, said Saturday that Syria had made a big mistake by supporting the Iraqi regime. (AP Photo/Bassem Tellawi)