Bashar al-Assad in Saudi Arabia

The correspondent of the Monte Carlo radio in Damascus said on Sunday that the son of Syrian President Hafez al-Assad, Col. Bashar al-Assad, will meet with Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz and high-ranking Saudi officials during the visit he had already started on Sunday to perform al-Umra rituals.

The same sources said this visit, which is mostly personal, would contribute to strengthening fraternal relations between Damascus and Riyadh and will open the way to enabling the two sides to know each other closely.

The certain diplomatic sources stressed that al-Assad may tour several Arab Gulf states following his visit to Saudi Arabia.

The Lebanese daily al-Safir aid today that al-Assad met On Sunday with King Fahd Bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia. The Saudi official news agency said that Col. Bashar al-Assad conveyed to the King greetings from Syrian President Hafez al-Assad. Present at the meeting were Saudi Minister of the Interior Prince Nayef Bin Abdul Aziz, the advisor for Crown Prince Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz.