The Kuwaiti politician and former parliamentarian Abdullah Al-Nafisi revealed intriguing details about the visit of the Kuwaiti parliamentary delegation to Damascus during Hafez al-Assad’s days.
Al-Nafisi, in a series of interviews with the host Amar Taqi on the program “The Black Box,” added that he was part of the parliamentary group selected to visit Damascus, personally assigned by the then Speaker Ahmed Al-Saadoun.
He explained that the members of the parliamentary delegation were competing for the visit, considering it a sightseeing trip rather than a diplomatic mission. It was planned that they would meet with Deputy Assad Abdel Halim Khaddam and President Hafez al-Assad.
He continued, stating that in our first meeting, we met with Abdel Halim Khaddam. The extent of his influence in the Syrian regime was such that Assad, the father, had entrusted him with the entire Lebanese file, in addition to the Gulf affairs.
Al-Nafisi pointed out that he feared the scandals of the Kuwaiti delegation, describing them as ignorant, as they were neither politically nor culturally qualified.
Al-Nafisi revealed that one of the deputies caused a diplomatic disaster by physically hitting Abdel Halim Khaddam on his knees, demanding that he stop talking and refrain from flattery.
In his interview, Al-Nafisi clarified that when Khaddam entered, he praised us, considering us his guests, saying, “Kuwait is advanced, and Kuwaitis are different from the rest of the Gulf. There is no Gulf state where real elections take place except Kuwait.”