Brussels, 16/09/2003 (Agence Europe) - Chris Patten, Commissioner for External Relations, and Faroukh al-Chareh, the Head of Syrian diplomacy, pleaded on Monday in favour of a central role for the United Nations in the Middle East and Iraq, reported AFP quoting the Syrian press agency SANA. The Syrian diplomat also stressed "the importance of the role" that the European Union could play in resolving these dossiers. Chris Patten visited Syria on Monday and Tuesday to discuss the situation in Iraq and the Middle East, but his special aim was to speed up negotiations with a view to concluding an association agreement between Syria and the EU. Due to its reluctance to undertake the necessary political and economic reforms, Syria is the only country in the Mediterranean basin that has not yet signed such an agreement with the EU, whose long-term objective is to create a free-trade zone with the countries of the Mediterranean.