Al-Assad confers with Arafat, al-Bashir, Lahoud, and Annan
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Tuesday evening in Amman met, in the framework of the ordinary Arab summit, with the chairman of the Palestinian Authority Yasser Arafat.
Present at the meeting were the vice President Abdul Halim Khaddam and the foreign minister Farouk al- Shara.
The meeting was also attended by the Palestinian minister of planning and international cooperation Nabil Shaath and the Palestinian self-rule minister Saeb Oreikat. Talks dealt with conditions in the region and these conditions require from Arab sides in the peace process, and prospects opened by President Bashar al-Assad's speech at the summit's inauguration session on possibility of coordination between the Palestinian and Syrian sides in confronting the Israeli anti- peace positions.
On Tuesday evening President Bashar al-Assad met in Amman with the Sudanese President Ahmad Omar Hassan al-Bashir. Present at the meeting were the foreign minister farouk al-Shara and the Sudanese foreign minister Mustafa Othman Ismael, the minister for presidential affairs Lt. Gen. Salah Muhammad Saleh and the advisor of the Sudanese President for political affairs Mahdi Ibrahim.
Talks dealt with Arab and regional conditions, developments in the region and the African Horn and issues listed on the agenda of the ordinary Arab summit conference in Amman as well as bilateral relations.
President al-Assad also met with the Lebanese President Emil Lahoud.
Talks dealt with the course of events of the Arab summit conference, issues listed on its agenda and issues of concern to the two countries.
On Tuesday evening President Bashar al-Assad met with the UN secretary General Kofi Annan accompanied by high ranking UN officials. The meeting was attended by Khaddam and al-Shara.
Talks dealt with conditions in the region, arising difficulties before peace efforts and the Israeli positions which escalated tension in the region and the role to be played by the UN to protect peace and implement UN resolutions.
The Syrian President said that Syria will render every possible aid to the UN in order to realize a just and comprehensive peace in the region. He stressed Syria's firm stand towards the peace process. The UN delegation included the assistant secretary general, chairman of the political department, UNRWA chairman, the peace process special co-ordinator, UN representative in South Lebanon and the UN secretary general office executive director. al-Shara and Khaddam attended the meeting.
