Al-Assad gets a message from King Fahd, crown prince Abdullah

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad at the Damascus al-Shaab palace on Tuesday received the Saudi foreign minister prince Saud al-Faisal and the director of the western department at the Saudi foreign ministry Khaled al-Jandan.

Present at the meeting were the minister of state for foreign affairs Naser Qaddour and the Saudi ambassador in Damascus Baker Abdullah Baker.

Prince Saud al-Faisal conveyed a message from King Fahd and from the Saudi crown prince Abdullah to the President and President al-Assad, in reply, asked prince al-faisal to convey a message coupled with his greetings and good wishes to King Fahd and to the crown prince Abdullah.

Talks dealt with the critical conditions in the ME and the Israeli oppressive acts against the Palestinians, as well as the current contacts and the efforts made to revitalize Arab solidarity and the need of maintaining consultation and coordination amid the current conditions.

Talks also dealt with bilateral relations between the two sisterly countries.

Earlier and in an arrival statement to the press upon arriving in Damascus, the Saudi foreign minister said he is carrying a message to President " Bashar al-Assad from the guardian of the two custodian King Fahd Bin Abdul Aziz and from the Saudi crown prince relating to continued consultation and coordination between the two countries." He added: " I have also conveyed a message from the Saudi King and crown prince to President Muhammad Hosni Mubarak of Egypt to coordinate stances between the three sisterly countries Saudi Arabia, Syria and Egypt."

Al-Faisal explained that the Arab conditions require continued consultations among the three said countries which are linked to remarkable relations.

On the possibility of convening a mini Arab summit, the Saudi foreign minister said " there is now a periodical Arab summit and collective work and coordination are required if there is a summit or not." Replying to another question on the withdrawal of the US from Durban conference, the Saudi crown prince said:" Any withdrawal speaks for itself." Earlier in the day, the Saudi foreign minister arrived in Damascus and was welcomed by Qaddour, high ranking foreign ministry officials and the Saudi ambassador in Damascus.