Khaddam meets Abbas

Syria's Vice-President Abdulhalem Khaddam received Tuesday evening Chairman of PLO Executive Committee Mahmoud Abbas and the accompanying delegation.

Talks during the meeting dealt with the situation in the occupied Palestinian lands, where both sides stressed importance of boosting the Palestinian national unity to secure the restoration of their legitimate rights.

They also underlined significance of Arab solidarity in the face of the ongoing challenges in the region. Viewpoints were similar on the importance of coordination between the two sides.

Chairman of the PLO Executive Committee Mahmoud Abbas and Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmad Qurei paid a visit Tuesday evening to the Martyrs Cemetery in the Damascus neighborhood Camp of al-Yarmouk.

They laid a wreath of flowers on the Unknown Soldier and read verses of the Holy Koran over the pure souls of martyrs. Abbas, addressing Palestinian people gathering at the cemetery, expressed pleasure over visiting Damascus and meeting President Bashar al-Assad and senior Syrian officials.

He added that "the Syrian leadership showed keenness on supporting the Palestinian issue," stressing that future meetings and visits will contribute to boosting the Palestinian people's unity aspiring to achieve the independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem its capital.