Syria today insisted it is engaged in quiet, constructive diplomacy with the United States.

Facing a hail of accusations by Washington that he has weapons of mass destruction and is sheltering Iraqi leaders, Syria’s president held talks today with a British envoy.

Syria is “doing its best” to stop the war in Iraq by supporting the Iraqi people politically, not by providing military assistance to the Iraqi regime, as Washington has charged, a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said today.