Al-Assad meets with Canada's foreign minister

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Monday at the Damascus al-Shaab palace received Canada's foreign minister John Manli and members of the accompanying delegation.

The meeting was attended by the foreign minister Farouk al-Shara and the Canadian ambassador in Damascus. Discussions dealt with political axes relating to current conditions in the region and in other parts of the world, especially the question of peace in the region, the question of terrorism debated at the international arena.

Concerning the question of peace, President al-Assad said that Europe has not played its due role in the peace process because it was not given the chance to shoulder its responsibilities to this effect.. He indicated the failure of several debated initiatives including the Mitchell report, which has not stemmed from the UN Security Council resolutions nor the Madrid's terms of reference which does not take into account the rights of the Palestinian people.

Concerning terrorism, the President stressed the need of having an international discussion on terrorism to fight terrorism on the ground of political and logical inclination as well as to discuss its roots and the need to identify it, noting that all divine religions resort to peace and reject terrorism.

The Syrian president also stressed the importance of the European role in fighting terrorism due to the fact that Europe is geographically close to the region and therefore more able to deal with causes of peoples in this region.

President al-Assad called not for linking terrorism to a certain person because terrorism has not a chairman. It is rather a network and then it should be combated by an international co-operation network including all countries.

Manli stressed that what he heard from the President helped him so much in understanding the view points of the country and he will convey these view points to the officials in each of Canada and the USA.

Earlier in the day, the Syrian foreign minister Farouk al-Shara received John Manli and members of his accompanying delegation. Senior Syrian foreign ministry officials attended the meeting.

Discussions dealt with regional and international developments.