Syrian President Bashar al-Assad arrived in Turkey Tuesday for a brief holiday and to discuss the indirect talks taking place in Turkey between his country and Israel, local media reported. The Syrian president, who was accompanied by his wife Asmaa, was welcomed by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his wife at the airport in Bodrum, a major tourist destination, NTV and CNN-Turk television stations reported.
The two leaders then had a working lunch and discussed the Israel-Syria talks as well as the wider situation in the Middle East, according to the reports. The Syrian news agencey SANA said "Talks concentrated on the indirect peace negotiations between Syria and Israel under Turkish mediation, and the importance of reaching a just and comprehensive peace in the region according to Madrid peace conference."
Assad and his wife plan to spend nearly a week on holiday in a luxury hotel in Bodrum, the online edition of the Hurriyet newspaper reported.© 2008 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
