Abdul Halim Khaddam, the Syrian Vice President, requested to be relieved of his official duties in the state and the party, on the first day of the party’s tenth national conference, which was held in Damascus.
Sources in the ruling Baath Party in Syria explained that Khaddam's decision came as a result of a heated discussion that took place between him and Foreign Minister Farouk Al-Sharaa at the party conference against the backdrop of Syrian policy towards Lebanon.
But a member of the Development Committee of the Baath Party, Ahmed Al-Haj Ali, said that Khaddam announced his intention to resign during a meeting of the party’s political committee for health reasons.
