In its issue dated January 12, 1974, Al-Qabas, on its second page, published a news article about the arrival of the Syrian Foreign Minister Abdul Halim Khaddam in Kuwait, coming from Bahrain, as part of an Arab tour to clarify Syria’s political stance on the Middle East crisis. Al-Qabas conveyed statements from Khaddam in which he said, “Syria’s policy has not changed towards the Middle East crisis and the peace talks in Geneva,” revealing that he carries messages from Syrian President Hafez al-Assad to the leaders of Gulf countries about the current situation in the region.
Here is the text of the news:
Deputy Prime Minister and Syrian Foreign Minister Mr. Abdul Halim Khaddam said in response to a question from Al-Qabas, “His current tour in the Gulf comes within the framework of Arab communications at this stage. He carried messages from Syrian President Hafez al-Assad to the leaders of Gulf countries about the current situation in the region.” Mr. Khaddam added in a statement to journalists upon his arrival last night from Bahrain, “Syria’s policy has not changed towards the Middle East crisis and the peace talks in Geneva.” Responding to a question about the accuracy of reports that President Sadat visited or will secretly visit Damascus to meet with President al-Assad, he said, “He has no knowledge of that, and he left Damascus four days ago and has not heard of such a visit.” Regarding the current tour of the U.S. Secretary of State Dr. Kissinger in the region, Mr. Khaddam said, “Kissinger has not officially requested a visit to Damascus and a meeting with Syrian officials. If he requests it and has matters to discuss with us, we are ready to receive him, and we have received him in the previous instance.” Mr. Khaddam was asked about reports that a ministerial reshuffle will take place in Syria, and he replied, “I have no knowledge of that, and we have not heard anything of the sort from Damascus Radio, and we usually announce everything on our radio. Have you heard anything on this matter from the radio?” In response to a question about whether his current Gulf tour is related to financial support for Syria at this stage, the Syrian Foreign Minister said, “Is it necessary for visits to Gulf countries always to be related to financial matters? We are conducting communications that we believe are necessary at the present time.” Upon his arrival in Kuwait, the Syrian minister was welcomed by the Minister of Social Affairs and Labor, Hamad Mubarak Al-Ayyar, and the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Rashid Al-Rashid, the Syrian Ambassador to Kuwait, Abdullah Rizk, and Mr. Khaled Al-Hassan, a member of the Central Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
