Syria welcomes Albright's visit to the Middle East

Syrian sources said that US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright will arrive in Damascus on September 13 as part of her tour of the Middle East. During her visit she will hold discussions with the Syrian President Hafez El Assad and Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk El Shara'a.

Sources said Syria welcomed the visit, asserting that Albright will find full cooperation and interest in the peace process in Syria. The sources stated that Albright's visit to the region is a positive step toward peace. Syria welcomes every effort aiming to remove obstacles obstructing the peace process on the Syrian and Lebanese tracks within the US initiative and starting from the point at which the negotiations stopped last February, the source said.

Syria insists on completing what has been begun in the past years. It strongly rejects the idea of starting from the beginning anew as requested by Israel.