Al-Assad meets with the Arab follow up committee on debated issues

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday at the Damascus al-Shaab palace received the Arab follow up committee emerged from the extraordinary recent Arab summit conference held in Cairo.

The committee is composed of the Syrian foreign minister Farouk al-Shara, the Jordanian foreign minister Abdul Illah al-Khatib, al-Habib Bin Yahya of Tunisia, prince saud al-Faisal of Saudi Arabia, Mahmoud Hammoud of Lebanon; Ahmad Maher of Egypt, Muhammad Bin Issa of Morocco; Muhammad Abul Ghaffar Abdullah of Bahrain, the secretary general of the Arab League (AL) Amr Moussa, the chairman of the PLO political department Farouk al-Qaddoumi and Nabil Shaath the Palestinian international co-operation official.

Talks dealt with the grave conditions in the occupied Arab lands and the question of terrorism currently debated at the international arena and the Arab position towards it.

The Arab foreign ministers, members of the committee gave a briefing to President al-Assad on issued listed on the committee's meeting agenda.

Stress was laid on the importance of Arab solidarity and supporting the Palestinian Intifada. Stress was laid on the fact that just and comprehensive peace can only be attainable through Israel's withdrawal from all occupied Arab territories and the implementation of international legitimacy resolutions and the establishment of the Palestinian state with Jerusalem as a capital.

Al-Assad stressed the importance of the unity of the Arab position and the need of inter- Arab coordination and consultation due to the sensitive phase the world is passing.

Al-Assad stressed to the foreign ministers the importance of taking a united position towards the question of terrorism and the need of making a distinction between terrorism and legitimate resistance approved by all international norms.