Bashar Set to Pay Visit to Turkey

ANKARA, 1 January 2004 — Syria’s President Bashar Assad is to pay a visit to Turkey next week, Turkish diplomatic sources said yesterday, confirming the recent thaw in relations between the two neighbors which were on the verge of war just five years ago. The sources said Bashar was to start a three-day visit on Tuesday, including talks in Ankara with President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and a visit to Istanbul, Turkey’s main business center. Relations between Syria and Turkey have improved markedly in recent weeks, with the signing of a security agreement in Ankara on Dec. 17.