Syria refuses to meet with Arafat

The Jordanian weekly al-Majd said in its recent issue that Syrian Vice President Abdul Halim Khaddam conveyed to a delegation representing the people's front for the liberation of Palestine led by its secretary general Abu Ali Mustafa Damascus's rejection to receive the Palestinian President Yasser Arafat in order to convene a meeting with President Bashar al-Assad.

The paper quoted a Palestinian source as saying that Khaddam told Abu Ali Mustafa, who was mediating to make this visit, that Syria has very authentic information, even from the Americans themselves that Arafat together with the Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak have reached an agreement concerning main issues in Camp David and the two sides agreed not to declare them at the meantime.

The source added that Khaddam stressed that Syria will not give a cover to Arafat while he is making agreements that are considered by Damascus as a violation to the Arab and Palestinian rights in Palestine, especially concerning the question of Jerusalem.