Syrian President Bashar al-Assad arrived in Egypt on Wednesday to discuss a Saudi peace plan for the Middle East with President Hosni Mubarak ahead of next week's Arab summit in Beirut.
Egypt's semi-official al-Ahram newspaper quoted Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher as saying the talks "represent a strong push in the framework of preparations for the next Arab summit in addition to discussing the Saudi initiative".
Following the talks it was reported that the two leaders warned against "targeting" Iraq and demanded its territorial integrity be respected.
In a joint statement issued in Cairo it was said "The two presidents spoke of the need to respect Iraq's sovereignty and territorial integrity and to eliminate the suffering of its people within the context of international law.
"They agreed on the danger that any targeting of Iraq or any other Arab country would constitute," it added.
The presidents discussed also the Saudi peace plan for the Middle East and in their joint statement they would work to persuade fellow Arab leaders to agree on a "unified stand" on the Saudi initiative at the nest Arab summit, due to be held next week in Beirut.
Senior Arab officials have shuttled in and out of Egypt in recent days for talks ahead of the summit.
President Bashar received at on Tuesday Saudi Foreign Mininster, Saud al-Faisal.
Talks during the meeting dealt with the latest developments in the region and the current contacts among the Arab nations as well as with the Saudi peace plan, reported SANA.
(Albawaba.com)
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