Iraqi minister in Syria after regional tour

Syrian President Hafez al-Assad met on Saturday with Iraqi Minister of Justice Shabib al-Malki at al-Chaab palace in Damascus. The Iraqi minister conveyed to President al-Assad the thanks of the Iraqi leadership for the efforts exerted by Syria to reach a diplomatic solution to the crisis between Iraq and the UN. Talks also dealt with developments in the region.

Al-Nahar said that following his meeting with President al-Assad, the Iraqi minister said that talks dealt with "the need for genuine efforts to maintain a plenary Arab meeting" so as to "deter the US atrocity," but he denied news that his talks with President al-Assad dealt with convening a Syrian - Iraqi summit or a pan-Arab summit including Iraq.

The Iraqi minister told al-Nahar he conveyed to President al-Assad a verbal message from President Hussein, expressing "gratitude" over the Syrian stand towards the recent crisis "fabricated " by the US. Minister al-Malki quoted the Syrian president's assertion of the need to develop bilateral relations between the two countries and to consolidate them in all fields, especially economics.

Al-Malki described his tour -- which covered Sudan, Yemen, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, UAE, Qatar, Oman and Syria -- as "successful," and said he hopes Saudi Arabia and Kuwait will respond to the Iraqi appeal to meet with their officials.

This is the second meeting of its kind between the Syrian president and an Iraqi official, following the meeting with Iraqi Foreign Minister Muhammad al-Sahaf during the recent crisis over weapons inspections in Iraq.