Al-Assad to visit Moscow within coming months

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Victor Posovaluk has announced that President Hafez al-Assad's visit to Moscow is on the agenda of contacts between the two countries' leaders, adding the visit will be made within the coming months.

In a statement he made in Moscow on Monday Posovaluk added that the personal message conveyed by Russian Defense Minister Igor Sergiev from President Boris Yeltsin to President Hafez al-Assad included several issues, foremost being "bilateral relations, which we positively evaluate, and we are ready to develop forward later."

Posovaluk added that the message also dealt with "issues relating to Middle East peace, the situation concerning Iraq and other relevant issues."