Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad arrived back in Damascus Sunday, February 25, following a one-day trip to Libya where he and Libyan leader Moamar Kadhafi reviewed developments in the Arab world and bilateral ties, Syria's official SANA news agency reported.
It was Assad's first visit to Libya since his ascension to power in July 2000 following his father Hafez Al-Assad's death in June.
The purpose of Assad's visit was "to express Syria's firm support" to Libya in the face of the "unjust American embargo on Libya and the other initiatives of Washington and London to weaken Libya's sovereignty," the Syrian government newspaper Tishrin wrote.
The United Nations imposed sanctions upon Libya in 1992 due to suspicion of Libya's sponsorship of the bombing of Pan-Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988, which left 270 people dead.
The sanctions were suspended but not lifted in April 1999 after Libya handed over two suspects for trial at a special Scotish court set up in the Netherlands.
After the January 31 conclusion of the trial, which found one Libyan guilty and the other innocent of bombing the plane, Libya has demanded the lifting of sanctions. — (AFP, Damascus)
© Agence France Presse 2001
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
