JEDDAH: The talks between Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and Syrian President Bashar Assad in Jeddah on Wednesday were distinguished for their warmth and positive results, high-level Syrian sources said.

They said the talks, which continued for two hours, focused on ways of strengthening bilateral relations and the roles of Saudi Arabia and Syria in the region.

The two leaders, according to the official Saudi Press Agency, had also discussed major regional and international developments.

Assad was in the Kingdom to attend the inauguration of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Thuwal at the invitation of the Saudi leader. Other regional leaders, including Turkish President Abdullah Gul and former Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, also attended the ceremony.

The Syrian sources said the participation of Assad in the KAUST opening would strengthen the relations between Saudi Arabia and Syria.

“The two sides have expressed their happiness over the level of coordination and consultation between the two countries,” the Syrian news agency, SANA, said.

SANA added that the two leaders reviewed the developments at Arab and international levels and expressed their cooperation to realize the interests of the two countries and the Arab world.

The Saudi-Syrian summit talks in Jeddah were attended by Prince Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah, who previously held talks with Assad in Damascus on a number of occasions.

The Syrian sources expected King Abdullah to visit Damascus to take the Saudi-Syrian relations to new heights.

The Lebanese leaders were happy over the talks between King Abdullah and Assad.

“President Assad’s visit to the Kingdom is an important step upon which we must build,” said Siniora, who is Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister and a member of Saad Hariri’s Future Movement, in remarks to reporters in Saudi Arabia.

Prime Minister-designate Hariri began talks on Thursday to form a new unity government in Lebanon, with his chances of early success seen tied to the outcome of the Saudi-Syrian summit.