Syrian President confers with Russian envoy
Syrian President Hafez al-Assad on Thursday met with the Russian special envoy to the Middle East, Victor Posovaluke, and members of the accompanying delegation. Present at the meeting were Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa and the Russian ambassador in Damascus.
Posovaluke conveyed a message from Russian President Boris Yeltsin to President al-Assad. The Russian envoy also conveyed an invitation from the Russian President to visit Federal Russia and President Assad accepted it and promised the visit would be made at the proper time.
Talks dealt with refional issues. The Russian envoy noted that his country is determined to follow up and reactivate its role in the peace process.
President al-Assad expressed conviction that "the Middle East peace process will not succeed unless it is built on basis of just and comprehensive peace and honoring of international legitimacy resolutions and the Madrid terms of reference."
Earlier in the day, Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa received the Russian envoy, who delivered a message from Russia's Foreign Minister Yevgeny Primakov relating to bilateral relations and the Middle East peace process. Posovaluke described President al-Assad's expected visit to Moscow as an impetus to develop Syrian -Russian relations and an opportunity to talk directly with President Boris Yeltsin on bilateral relations and the region's peace process.
In a press conference he held on Thursday night at the Russian embassy in Damascus the Russian envoy said his talks with Syrian officials dealt with bilateral relations, the situation in Lebanon, and the Middle East peace process, especially on the Syrian and Lebanese tracks.
On the recent Israeli proposal of conditional withdrawal from south Lebanon, he said, "Our stances are very close to the effect of implementing U.N. resolution 425 as it is."
On the Turkish-Israeli alliance, Posovaluke said, "We are not satisfied with certain aspects of military cooperation between Israel and Turkey."