Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak and the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad held a summit in Egypt on Monday. The discussions between the two leaders got underway immediately following the arrival in Cairo of Assad and was expected to later expand to include members of the two delegations.
Following their talks, the two presidents issued a joint communique urging the the Quartet of Middle East peace brokers - the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations - to push forward the Syrian-Lebanese tracks of the peace process with Israel.
Late last week, the Egyptian foreign minister Ahmad Maher said that the Mubarak - al-Assad meeting will review "issues of concern to the Arab nation," noting that this summit falls in the course of "continued consultations" between the two presidents.
The Egyptian daily al-Ahram reported that the two leaders will discuss two main issues - the initial implementation of the roadmap peace plan and the situation in Iraq. The daily said Monday Assad wants Mubarak to intercede with the Americans on Syria's behalf. The United States has put pressure on Damascus to close the offices of Palestinian groups in the Syrian capital and not to grant sanctuary to members of the regime of ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
