Al-Assad discusses with al-Khatib Arab solidarity

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Wednesday held talks with Jordanian Foreign Minister Abdulelah al-Khatib, who handed a message from King Abdullah II to the President.

Talks dealt with the latest developments in the region, means of reactivating Arab solidarity and intensifying inter-Arab contacts, in addition to ways of boosting bilateral ties in all domains, according to SANA.

Damascus has already refused the Jordanian-Egyptian initiative to halt confrontations between Israeli troops and the Palestinians and to resume talks which stopped since the outbreak of the Intifada last September.

In a statement to reporters, al-Khatib said " Jordan and Syria's keenness to hold continuous coordination and consultation between the two leaderships was clear during the meeting." Later in the day, Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa and his Jordanian counterpart held talks. Following the meeting, al-Sharaa said cooperation between Syria and Jordan is good and continuous and the joint committee will meet soon.

In reply to a question on Syria's stand on the Jordanian-Egyptian initiative, al-Sharaa said, " We are for the Madrid term of reference and the UN resolutions. And any initiative that takes into consideration such that we'll not be against it."