President al-Assad confers with Greek archbishop

Syrian President Hafez al-Assad met on Sunday in Damascus with the Greek Orthodox Archbishop Christo Dolos and members of his accompanying delegation.

The archbishop commended the great development Syria enjoys "under the leadership of President al-Assad, who achieves equality among the Syrians."

Meanwhile, a religious mass was held on Sunday at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Virgin Mary in Damascus on the occasion of the visit of Dolos to Syria.

The mass was taken by Archbishop Christo Dolos with the attendance of the Patriarch Ignatius IV of Antioch and the Whole East for the Greek Orthodox Church, Bishop Antoine Hamid Maroni of the Maronites church in Damascus, and a number of ambassadors accredited in Damascus.

The archbishop made a speech calling for cooperation, friendship, understanding and reciprocal respect among people.

Patriarch Hazim spoke about the historical, intellectual and cultural interaction and deeply-rooted ties between Syria and Greece and the role played by these ties in exchanging bonds of cooperation and friendship currently existing between the two countries and their peoples.