The United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan arrived in Damascus on Thursday for talks to bolster a truce between Israel and the Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah group.

Annan is expected to talk with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al- Muallem Thursday evening and with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Friday.

He is also expected to press the Syrian leadership to cooperate in the implementation of UN resolution 1701 which halted the war in Lebanon.

Syria, accused by the U.S. and Israel of providing arms to Hezbollah, rejected an Israeli demand of deploying the UN peacekeeping forces along the Lebanese borders with it.

Damascus denied the allegations and threatened to close the borders if the UN forces were deployed.

Annan just wrapped up a visit in Jordan where he denounced Israel's use of cluster bombs in Lebanon and urged for a swift lift of Israeli blockade there.

Source: Xinhua