Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah arrived in Syria on Wednesday for talks with President Bashar al-Assad aimed at warming ties that have aggravated Arab discord over Iran, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Lebanon. Abdullah's visit to Damascus is his first as king.
According to Reuters, Assad met Abdullah at the airport and went from there straight to a presidential palace in Damascus, Syrian political sources said. "The two leaders have hot files on their hands. Palestine and the suffering of Gaza, Lebanon and its need for national unity and Iraq," said Syrian state newspaper al-Thawra.
Syrian-Saudi ties froze after the 2005 assassination of former=PM Rafik al-Hariri, whose allies blamed the killing on Damascus.
© 2009 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
