Mubarak, Assad discuss ME peace, pan-Arab summit

President Hosni Mubarak arrived in Damascus Saturday for talks with Syrian President Hafez al-Assad on the latest developments in the Syrian-Israeli peace track.

Mubarak and Assad met behind closed doors after a round of talks that also included senior officials from both sides. Mubarak was accompanied to Damascus by Foreign Minister Amr Moussa, Information Minister Safwat Sherif and Presidential Political Adviser Osama el-Baz.

Foreign Minister Amr Moussa said talks dealt with the peace process, the Arab summit and Arab solidarity. They also tackled the situation in the Arab world, Moussa said.

Presidents Hosni Mubarak and Hafez Al-Assad exchanged views and agreed on activating the Egyptian-Syrian Higher Joint Committee presided by the two countries' prime ministers.

"A date for holding the Damascus Declaration states will be fixed in the near future when Foreign Ministers meet during the coming Arab League session", he noted.

The Egyptian diplomat asserted continued coordination and consultation between Egypt and Syria on the Middle East peace process, recalling identical views on bidding for healthy inter-Arab relations.

On the possibility of holding an Arab summit, Moussa pointed out that the issue is under consideration.

On his part, Minister of Information Safwat Sherif said that the two leaders dealt with the Arab situation in general and the need for a collective Arab action to create one Arab concept during this critical stage through which the Arab states are passing.

Sherif said that the visit of Mubarak comes within the framework of continued and sustained coordination between the two leaders. Besides the summit talks, others will be held at the level of the two countries' Foreign and Information Ministers, Sherif said.

All topics on the agenda deal with peace issues, inter-Arab ties and bilateral relations, he said.