US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright briefed Saudi King Fahd Tuesday on the just-ended Middle East summit at which Israel and the Palestinians agreed to a ceasefire.
Albright met the monarch briefly with her Saudi counterpart Prince Saud al-Faisal immediately on her arrival from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh where she attended the summit.
She was to also see Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz late Tuesday to discuss the summit as well issues related to oil, Iraq, the Gulf and the upcoming Arab summit in Egypt, officials said.
The official SPA news agency said Albright had "informed the king of the results of the Sharm el-Sheikh summit," during which Israel and the Palestinians reached a number of understandings with US President Bill Clinton.
They include verbal arrangements on ending nearly three weeks of violence that have raised fears of regional insecurity, creating a commission of inquiry to look into the cause of the clashes and exploring ways to restart the stalled peace process.
Albright arrived in Riyadh just hours after President Bashar al-Assad of Syria began a two-day visit to Saudi Arabia, as state-run Damascus Radio called for a "strong Arab front" against Israel.
Assad's trip is part of "Syrian efforts to build a strong and uniform Arab front which would mobilize all the (Arab) nation's means against Zionist arrogance," the radio said.
US officials "took note" of the Syrian president's presence in Riyadh at the same time as Albright.
But they declined to comment on whether a meeting between the two was being considered. Washington, while primarily occupied with the Israeli-Palestinian peace process in recent months, remains keen to restart the Israel-Syria track that fizzled in January.
The United States is also eager to urge Damascus to use its influence to restrain Islamic militants in southern Lebanon, who it says are disrupting efforts to forge a comprehensive peace.
The flurry of diplomatic activity in Riyadh came immediately after the conclusion of the Sharm el-Sheikh summit and ahead of the Arab summit, which is set for Cairo on October 21-22.
Saudi Arabia, Syria and Egypt are the major players in the Arab world linked through the Damascus Declaration, concluded after the 1991 Gulf War, which was to boost cooperation in all fields. The three hold regular diplomatic consultations.
Assad's visit to Saudi Arabia is only the Syrian leader's second foreign trip since taking over from his late father in July, following a visit to Egypt at the beginning of this month.
Syria's official newspaper Ath-Thawra proposed in an editorial Tuesday that a tripartite summit be held grouping Syria, Saudia Arabia and Egypt to take a "firm stance" ahead of the Arab summit.
Syria's official press has been strongly critical of the Sharm el-Sheikh meeting, seeing it as a ruse to pre-empt the Arab summit and of benefit only to Israel --RIYADH (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
