Palestinian official for closer Syrian-Palestinian relations

Deputy chairman of the PLO executive committee, Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), said, "We are hopeful of having a Syrian-Palestinian closeness for several reasons which necessitate such a closeness." In a statement to the London-based al-Sharq al-Awsat daily issued on Tuesday, Abbas added, "For our part, we are ready to coordinate with our Syrian brothers at the time they find it suitable and we always say to them, 'welcome.'"