Palestinian President Yasser Arafat called Tuesday off a landmark planned visit to Syria for the second time this month, Syrian information ministry officials announced.
"The visit has been postponed," a ministry official told AFP, without giving the reasons nor a new date.
Arafat was originally due to visit Syria on September 12, but the mission was called off in the wake of the terror attacks in the United States the previous day.
In Amman, a Palestinian official confirmed that the visit was in trouble.
"There is a crisis and it is now uncertain if the visit will go on. There are last-minute negotiations underway at (Amman's) Marka airport where President Arafat can now be found," the official told AFP.
"Either he will fly to Damascus or board the plane to return to the Palestinian territories," the official added on condition of anonymity, without giving an explanation.
Arafat arrived late Monday in Jordan on his way to Syria.
The Palestinian leader postponed his visit to Syria, scheduled on September 12, following the terror attacks that slammed the US.
Relations between the Palestinians and Syria deteriorated to the point of ties being cut after Arafat signed the 1993 Oslo accords with Israel on Palestinian autonomy.
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
