Damascus, 20 Dec. (AKI) - Syria's president Bashar al-Assad has left Damascus for Cairo, where he is due to meet his Egyptian counterpart Hosni Mubarak for talks expected to focus on Syria's internal situation and its relations with the Arab world and the international community. Some political commentators are linking the visit of Assad to the arrival in Cairo tomorrow of US vice president Dick Cheney, speculating that Assad may bring with him a series of proposals to present to the United States to relieve the pressure on his country. | Reports are that Dick is heading straight home from Pakistan in case his vote is needed in the senate. I suppose Bashar asking Dick for witness protection was too much to hope for. Hell, everyone needs a dream. |
However, some Egyptian government sources have rejected this connection, emphasising that Assad's visit is aimed at seeking mediation between Syria and Iraq to reach an accord between the two nations and re-establish normal bilateral relations. Over the past month there has been a flurry of short visits by the Egyptian and Syrian presidents, most of them focusing on the Syrian response to critical resolutions by the UN Security Council and the report of the UN-appointed inquiry into the assassination of the former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri.
Assad's departure for Cairo comes amid unconfirmed reports of a joint Saudi-Egyptian mediation drive between Syria and Iraq and of an imminent summit between the heads of state of the two neighbours, after Damascus' commitment to cooperate to make its borders with Iraq more secure. |