Syrian ambassador to the US summoned back to Damascus

Arab diplomatic forces in Washington said the Syrian ambassador to the US, Walid al-Mu'allim, will return soon to Damascus at the request of the Syrian political leadership.

The sources, which preferred not to be identified, told the Kuwaiti daily al-Rai al-Am that the "shrewd diplomat," who occupied a prominent position as the chief negotiator for the Syrians with the Israelis for several years until these negotiations were suspended in 1996, was summoned to the Syrian Foreign Ministry in preparation for the coming phase of negotiations, which the US is trying to restart.

The sources stated that al-Mu'allim will occupy a high-ranking position in the Syrian government through which he will, once again, lead the negotiating process with the Israeli side.