Impromptu talks

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PRESIDENT Hosni Mubarak made an unscheduled stop in Damascus yesterday for a brief meeting with Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad. During the working breakfast, Mubarak and Al-Assad stated their support for Lebanon as a sovereign state and that it was in total control of its internal affairs. They agreed to deal with UN Security Council 1559 "realistically and practically, and in a way which would simultaneously end Israeli occupation of all Syrian and Lebanese territories", according to presidential spokesman Maged Abdel-Fattah.

The US-sponsored resolution calls on Syria to respect Lebanese sovereignty and withdraw its 20,000 troops from its next-door neighbour.

Mubarak's visit came a day after an Arab foreign ministers meeting in Cairo adopted a resolution supporting "the special relationship between Syria and Lebanon". Earlier in the week, Mubarak discussed the standoff between Damascus and Washington regarding Lebanon with US Assistant Secretary of State for the Near East William Burns.

Other topics of discussion yesterday were developments in Iraq, Sudan and the Palestinian territories. The two presidents reiterated their support for the roadmap which aims to create a Palestinian state, adding that Israel must abide by international law with regards to occupied Palestinian and Syrian territories.

Egypt explored possible Syrian assistance in the Cairo-sponsored dialogue among Palestinian factions, which aims to unify Palestinian ranks and enable them to meet their obligations under the peace plan. At the same time, the two presidents called on Israel to "respect international law and the roadmap, especially concerning settlement activities and the wall of separation", Abdel-Fattah said.