Syrian President Bashar al-Assad offered his support to the Palestinians Tuesday, saying "forget the past" after 10 years of animosity between Damascus and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.
Assad remarks came as a signal that the differences with Palestinians that surfaced on Tuesday were settled.
Sources have told Albawaba.com that the Syrians demanded that a summit resolution stipulate that the Syrian, Lebanese and Palestinian peace tracks be organically linked, but the Palestinians rejected that. The disagreement cast doubt on whether a scheduled summit between Assad and Arafat would take place Tuesday.
"We tell the Palestinians in this room and outside that we will place all the cards in our hands at their disposal although there has been no coordination (between us) for 10 years," Assad said at an Arab summit attended by Arafat, cited by AFP.
"We offer our hands to our Palestinian brothers and tell them we stand beside them in the service of the Palestinian cause," Assad said, adding, "Let's forget the past." – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
