Damascus - In a visit to Damascus on Monday, Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen and his Syrian hosts agreed on the need for a comprehensive peace in the region, but remained at odds over the Iranian elections.

In a press conference after meetings with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem, Verhagen said he looked forward to greater cooperation between Europe and Syria, but that this would require "bold steps" from Syria on the peace process and "further steps in the field of human rights."

Verhagen said he and al-Assad had "a frank exchange of views," and called the 2002 Arab peace initiative the "cornerstone of peace, upon which Syria and other parties must now build."

In 2002, Arab League members said they would recognize Israel if it would withdrawal from all territories it occupied during 1967 Arab-Israeli war and reach a "just," negotiated settlement to the issue of Palestinian refugees.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech last week outlining his government's policy on the Arab-Israeli conflict was "an important step," Verhagen said, citing Netanyahu's conditional endorsement of a two-state solution and his offer to begin negotiations "without preconditions."

But it was "a first step," he said. "Israel must stop settlement activity ... and Palestinians must abandon violence."

Verhagen and al-Moallem were at odds over recent events in Iran, Syria's neighbour and ally.

"We are very concerned about events in Iran," Verhagen said. "Our position is that the true voice of the Iranian people must be heard. Therefore, given the large number of complaints, there should be a clear and transparent investigation of the results and any potential fraud."

"Of course, the use of violence against civilians is also a matter of real concern," he said, adding that the Netherlands had summoned a top diplomat from the Iranian Embassy to file an official complaint.

"The international community has extended its hand to Iran. We hope to reach out to Iran, but this requires (its) acceptance of international standards," he said.

"I believe that the Islamic Revolution in Iran is deep-rooted," al-Moallem said. "The international community must deal with that fact."

"Anyone betting on the fall of the regime is likely to bet on the loser. In every election, there are winners and losers, and those who say there was fraud."

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad won a 2007 referendum on parliament's decision to propose he accept a second term with 97.62 per cent of the vote.

Verhagen said he hoped to greater cooperation between Syria and the Netherlands, and that he had offered the benefit of the Netherlands' experience in water management to Syria and the region.

"We are committed to the management and distribution of water in the Middle East so that water does not become a source of conflict," Verhagen said.

"Constructive regional cooperation" on water resources "could be the beginning of a joining together to achieve prosperity and stability," he said.

Verhagen was expected to travel to Israel on Monday evening.(dpa)