By Xinhua,
Damascus : Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas would not meet Hamas leaders living exile in Syria during his two-day visit here, his senior aide said on Sunday.
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat made the remarks to reporters ahead of Abbas’s scheduled meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday.
“President Abbas came to Syria on an official visit and what is on his agenda is to meet Assad, and other meetings are not on the agenda,” he said when asked whether Abbas would meet with Palestinian leaders in Syria, including those of Hamas.
As for the summit between Abbas and Assad, Erekat said the two leaders would discuss the current situation on the Palestinian arena and the latest developments of Palestinian-Israeli negotiations.
The talks came within the framework of continued coordination and cooperation between the two leaders, Erekat said, adding that coordination between the two sides is on the highest level and on all issues, especially the peace process in the region.
Erekat said Abbas would ask Assad to help achieve success of Egyptian-brokered inter-Palestinian dialogue, noting that the dialogue should not fail because division among the Palestinian factions has harmed the interest of the Palestinians, which was used by Israel.
Assad had held talks with Abbas, who arrived here Saturday, before Sunday noon, but details of the meeting has not been released, official Syrian SANA news agency reported.
Egypt, which has been mediating a national Palestinian reconciliation since Hamas drove out pro-Abbas forces and ousted his Fatah party from Gaza in June 2007, is expected to call for a Palestinian national dialogue in November.
But ahead of November’s inter-Palestinian dialogue, Egypt prepares to sponsor bilateral talks between Hamas and Fatah on Oct.25, which would be the first official meeting between the two rival movements since their rift widened last year.
A senior Hamas leader on Saturday said his movement has agreed with Egyptian mediators to form a Palestinian national government and reform security services as part of efforts to settle the crisis with Fatah.