Austrian President confers with Syrian interior minister

Austria's President Thomas Klestil yesterday received Syrian minister of the Interior Muhammad Harba currently visiting Austria.

The Syrian minister also met with the second speaker of the Austrian parliament.

In the two meetings talks dealt with relations and cooperation between the two countries and means of developing them.

The Syrian minister stressed his country's concern over the peace process and the achievement of a just and comprehensive peace and called for Israel to withdraw to its June 4, 1967 borderlines.

Harba underlined the importance of a key European role in the Middle East peace process according to the principles on which the peace process was built. He hoped that Europe will play such a key role, especially as Austria will preside over the EU at the beginning of July.