Syrian Foreign Minister meets with Arafat

Palestinian President Arafat met today in Cairo with Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa on the sidelines of the Arab League ministerial meeting.

Arafat and al-Sharaa exchanged views on the peace process and Israeli practices in this respect. Syria and Palestine hold Israel responsible for the stalemate in the Middle East peace process, which has been suspended for more than one year.

In statements to journalists, Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa praised the meeting between Arafat and al-Sharaa and viewed it as very important in the context of common Arab efforts.

Egyptian President Mubarak succeeded during the 1996 Arab Summit in Cairo in convening a meeting between Arafat and Syria's President Assad, although their relations had ceased since Arafat signed the Oslo agreements, concerning Palestinian self-rule with Israel, in 1993.