Bush spoke by telephone with Aznar, one of the strongest supporters of the US-led war against Iraq, seeking diplomatic cooperation to pressure Syria not to welcome fugitives or harbour chemical weapons, they said.

Aznar had as of Monday not yet reacted publicly to American warnings to Syria.

Spain's Socialist opposition has called on the government to distance itself from what it calls the American "strategy of threat" towards Syria.

Syria has strongly denied American allegations that it was aiding the remnants of Saddam Hussein's Iraqi regime or developing its own weapons of mass destruction.

SPACE.WIRE