"Syria, as you know, is giving a warm hospitality to many terror organizations...We know very well what a major role Syria is taking in letting those terror organizations increase their activities," Shalom told reporters after talks with his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul.

"Unfortunately, they are not doing anything to prevent it. More than that, they are encouraging all the time terror organizations to act within Syria and ... it is something that must be stopped," he added.

Shalom charged that Damascus airport was serving as a main hub for Iran to send shipments of arms to Islamic fundamentalist group Hezbollah based in southern Lebanon.

"Unfortunately, since we withdrew from Lebanon two and a half years ago, we have seen that Hezbollah doubled their missiles," he said.

The United States has recently stepped up pressure on Syria, with President George W. Bush accusing the country on Sunday of holding banned chemical weapons and sheltering Iraqi leaders fleeing the US-led invasion.

Syria hit back by accusing the United States and Israel of a "concerted campaign" against it.

But Shalom brushed aside the Syrian allegation as "propaganda".

Speculation has been rife that the United States may move against Syria and Iran -- two countries which have long figured on Washington's list of states which support terrorism -- after the war in Iraq.

Gul, however, warned against spilling the conflict in Iraq into the region.

"An issue everyone should give importance to is that the war should stay in Iraq and not spread to another country or region," he said.

"The region has grown tired. We need peace and stability at one," he added.

SPACE.WIRE