Al-Assad meets with Swiss foreign minister

The talks between Syrian President Hafez al-Assad and Swiss foreign minister Joseph Diess dealt with the situation in the region, the suspended Middle East peace talks on the Syrian- Israeli talks as well as Syrian-Swiss relations and means of developing them.

The Swiss foreign minister expressed his country's interest in backing peace in the region and support for any peaceful settlement which preserves Syria's full sovereignty on its all territories.

Diess described his Wednesday meeting with President Hafez al-Assad , attended by Foreign Minister Farouk al-Shara and the Swiss ambassador in Damascus as very friendly, noting that this visit availed him the chance to become acquainted with Syria's stances towards the suspended ME peace.

In a press conference in Damascus, the Swiss minister stressed his country's stand in rejecting the Israeli occupation and the unilateral measures. He renewed Switzerland's rejection to the settlement operation in being against Geneva agreements and to implementing UN resolutions concerned especially resolution no. 425 on restoring back Lebanon's sovereignty to all its territories. He said " Switzerland has closely followed up the escalation of aggression against Lebanon which targeted the Lebanese infrastructure and the damages inflicted in the civilians." He called for halting the aggression and honoring the international law.

The Swiss minister said that his visit to Syria contributed to strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries in various areas, especially in the cultural and economic fields. He indicated in this regard the possibility of signing a memorandum on cultural ( scientific and technical) cooperation, and expressed his hope to developing economic relations between the two sides and stressed his country's readiness to strengthen this cooperation on all levels.

He focused on his country's interest to maintain cooperation with Syria in the area of backing the activities of the International committee of the Red Cross especially in backing the Syrian families in the occupied Golan, and the question of the Syrian detainees in the Israeli jails on the ground that Switzerland is concerned with implementing the provisions of the Geneva agreements concerning the occupied territories.

Replying to a question on that Swiss companies are financing the construction of Turkish dams on the Euphrates and the Tigris rivers, the Swiss minister said the whole of the matter is connected to what is only taking place on the Tigris river where several Swiss companies provide technical equipment to build a dam in Turkey but the Swiss government interfere to provide guarantees on the dangers of this measure, stressing that his country understand the Syrian fears in this regard.

For his part, the Swiss ambassador in Damascus highlighted the development of trade exchange between Syria and Switzerland, noting that the growth average in this regard increased 100% between 1990- 1999.

He explained that Swiss exports to Syria reached 60 million Swiss Francs while the Syrian exports reached 3 million Swiss Francs, stressing that the two sides are keen to give more dynamism to these relations.

Earlier in the day, al-Shara met with his Swiss counterpart.

Discussions dealt with current conditions in the region, the deadlocked ME peace process and the recent Israeli aggression against Lebanon. The two sides also reviewed bilateral relations and means of boosting them.