Syrian FM confers with Palestinian envoy on refugees

Palestinian sources told the Lebanese daily al-Nahar that Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa met with member of the PLO executive committee Asaad Abdul Rahman who is in charge of the refugee issue, an envoy from Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.

The sources stated that the two-hour meeting was held on Tuesday in Damascus and dealt with Palestinian conditions in the occupied territories, the stumbled Palestinian track and the question of the refugees. The sources noted the similar views shared by Syria and the PLO concerning the right of the Palestinian refugees to return back home and to self-determination, adding that Abdul Rahman is an open channel for dialogue between Syria and Arafat, who Syria refused to receive so as not to give the impression that it is "content with his policy."

The sources stressed that before receiving Abdul Rahman, al-Sharaa asserted that he would not take from him any message from the Palestinian leader and that the meeting was held in the context of the two sides' conviction toward the need to reopen promptly the issue of Palestinian refugees.