Palestinian official denies Syrian pressure to halt armed struggle

Maher al-Taher, a member of the political bureau of the People's Front for the Liberation of Palestine, has denied in a statement to the BBC that Syrian Vice President Abdul Halim Khaddam asked the Palestinian opposition groups based in Damascus to give up armed struggle.

Al-Taher said that a member of the front met with "the brothers" in Syria, and a meeting was held with Khaddam, "who did not ask us for anything."

Al-Taher quoted Khaddam as asserting Syria's unswerving stand and backing for the struggle of the Palestinian people. Al-Taher said that during the meeting the Palestinian question was reviewed, adding that "Khaddam did not ask us for a certain thing."

Al-Taher noted that viewpoints were identical in that a just solution for the cause of Palestine can be only attainable on the ground of restoring the legitimate national rights of the Palestinian people, foremost being the right to return, self-determination and the establishment of the independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as a capital.