By NNN-SANA,
Damascus : President of the Palestinian National Authority Mahmoud Abbas affirmed on Tuesday that President Bashar al-Assad is fully committed to the issue of achieving Palestinian national unity in his capacity as Chairman of the Arab Summit.
In a statement to the press before leaving Damascus, President Abbas said his talks with President al-Assad discussed several issues including Palestinian national unity, the Palestinian track, Palestinian negotiations, the Syrian track and a number of bilateral issues.
“We have agreed upon future steps for coordinating stances regarding the Palestinian arena, Palestinian-Israeli talks, and the indirect Syrian-Israeli talks,” said Abbas, adding that all efforts are being made to bypass the current crisis on the Palestine arena, stressing the necessity of Palestinian national unity.
President al-Assad and Abbas had already discussed the situation in Palestine, the peace process, and means for achieving the Palestinian national unity through the overall inter-Palestinian dialogue.
President al-Assad in this regard affirmed the need for making efforts to unite the Palestinians since their national unity is the only way of achieving their rights and establish an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital.
President al-Assad also affirmed to President Abbas his support to Palestinian rights and his support to all efforts being made for achieving the Arab nation’s higher interests, especially considering that Syria is heading the Arab Summit.
President Abbas was seen off at Damascus International Airport by Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem and Representative of the Palestinian Liberation Organization in Damascus Mahmoud al-Khalidi.
Meanwhile, Syrian Vice President Farouk al-Shara discussed on Tuesday with Envoy of the Indonesian government Mr. Nana Sutresna Syrian-Indonesian relations and the role of Asian and African peoples in supporting the rights of the Palestinian people.
Mr. Sutresna reviewed during the meeting the preparations made by the Indonesian government for the Ministerial Conference which will be held in Jakarta July 14-18 for supporting the Palestinian people’s right to establish their independent state.
The Conference is based on a decision made by the leaders of Asian and African countries during a summit in Jakarta in 2005 which discussed the new Asian-African strategic partnership.
In a statement, Mr. Sutresna pointed out that the upcoming conference aims to support the Palestinian people’s struggle against occupation, in addition to supporting the establishment of an independent Palestinian state and building the Palestinians’ capabilities in development and human resources.
He added that the Conference also reaffirms the spirit of solidarity and cooperation among Asian and African countries in their efforts to establish peace, prosperity and social justice in the world.