NATO Chief Worried about Syrian Conflict Spreading

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Friday said he feared the Syrian conflict could spread to neighboring countries, as Israel prepares to intensify its response to rocket attacks from Gaza.

"Syria might have an interest in a spillover of the conflict into other countries in the region to diffuse interest in the domestic conflict," Rasmussen told students at a university in Odense, Denmark, following a talk broadcast on the Internet.

Asked about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, he said that NATO "as an alliance (was) not involved" in the conflict.

"We support efforts by the international community to find a solution to the conflict, but right now the challenge is that there might be a spillover from the Syrian conflict to the other countries in the region," he said.

He added that he supported "a two-state solution, a free and independent and viable Palestinian state".