Al-Assad gets phone call from Chirac on campaign to fight terrorism

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Monday received a telephone call from the French President Jacques Chirac during which talks dealt with the visit the French President will hold to Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in order to discuss the international campaign against terrorism and the French move to this effect.

Discussions also dealt with co-operation between Syria and France towards the issue of fighting terrorism.

The two President agreed to continue contacts and consultations between the two sides.

Meantime, the French president stressed in a statement to the London- based al-Hayat daily his country's support to Syria's policy of modernization, led by President Bashar al-Assad.

President Chirac stressed the urgent need to achieve a just and comprehensive peace in the region and stressed the need of resuming peace negotiations on various tracks according to Madrid conference terms of references especially UN resolutions 242 and 338 and the land for peace formula.

He stressed that it is a right time now to meet the legitimate ambitions of the peoples of the region as 10 years have so far elapsed since the convening of the Madrid conference.