As part of a tour of Middle East countries, Ethiopian Foreign Minister Colonel Dr. Feleke Gedle Giorgis visited Damascus at the weekend (Saturday, 23 August) for talks with his Syrian counterpart and with Syrian President hafiz al-Assad.
A Syrian delegation led by Foreign Minister Abdel-Halim Khaddam accorded Dr. Feleke a welcome as he crossed the Lebanese border into Syria. The immediacy of the meeting between the two foreign minster was seen as a sign of the urgency with which both countries are seeking to re-establish closer relations, after a period in which Syria’s policies in Africa had been criticised in Ethiopia.
Hitherto, Syria has bee regarded as a strong supporter of Eritrean insurgents fighting for the independence of their province from the rest of Ethiopia. No details of the conversations between the two men were released after their first formal meeting in the Syrian capital, Damascus, beyond saying that the covered the world situation in general, with specific reference to the Middle East and African affairs. The visit by Dr. Feleke, whose government is supported by the Soviet Union, came the day after the Syrian leadership declare its intention of seeking closed ties with Moscow — already Syria’s main military backer.
later the same day, Dr. Feleke had a meeting with Syrian president Hafez al-Assad during which the two men discussed the world situation and matters of common interest between their two nations.
