DAMASCUS, 8 July 2005 — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas yesterday held “fruitful” talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad and other senior officials, a spokesman at the Foreign Ministry said yesterday.
“Abbas will brief the press this morning (today) about his talks with President Assad, Palestinian groups, and other officials whom he met during his three-day visit to the country,” the official said, adding that Abbas’ meeting with Assad was attended by Foreign Minister Farouk Al Shara.
Palestinian and Syrian leaders met with the Damascus-based heads of Palestinian factions, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, in a bid to boost Palestinian efforts to form a national unity government, officials said. The meeting came days after Hamas rebuffed invitations to join the Palestinian government, which would oversee the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip due to be launched in mid-August.
Before the tripartite gathering, Syrian President Bashar Assad met with Abbas, who is on his first visit to Damascus since being elected in January as successor to the late Yasser Arafat.
He said Syria “is ready today to help the pursuit of a constructive dialogue which seeks to unify the ranks because Palestinian national unity is the guarantee for accomplishing legitimate goals” of the Palestinian people.
Following a visit to the Martyrs Memorial on Qassioun Mountain yesterday, Abbas praised Syria for the key role it is playing in defending Arab causes and said that Damascus will remain “the vanguard” of solidarity and cooperation amongst Arab countries and the symbol of struggle against occupation.”
