Clinton phones Al-Assad on resuming peace negotiations

Syrian President Hafez al-Assad on Wednesday night received a telephone call from US President Bill Clinton in which Clinton expressed his satisfaction over the talks held by US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in Damascus on Tuesday.

President al-Assad appreciated President Clinton's announcement of the resumption of the Middle East peace talks between Syria and Israel from the point where they broke off.

Both presidents expressed their determination to make all possible efforts to achieve a just and comprehensive peace in the region.

US President Bill Clinton said on Wednesday that Israel and Syria agreed to resume talks from where they broke off in 1996, with a first round of negotiations to be held in Washington next week from the point they broke off.

The US president told a news conference that the two parties agreed to resume negotiations from the point where they left off.