The Soviet Union and Syria Saturday condemned the United States and Israel and pledged to strenghten cooperation in military and all other areas.
‘Both sides confirmed their striving to continue to strengthen cooperation between the Soviet Union and Syria in all areas, including military matters,’ said a communique carried by the official Tass news agency.
The communique came one day after Syrian Foreign Minister Abdul Halim Khaddam left Moscow after a two-day official visit.
The communique denounced the United States for interference in Poland’s internal affairs and Israel for annexing the occupied Golan Heights of Syria.
On Poland, the communique said attempts by the United States and its NATO allies to interfere in Poland contravene ‘the U.N. charter and the commonly recognized norms of international law.’
The Israeli annexation ‘is a gross violation of the charter and resolutions of the United Nations and a grave threat to peace and security in the Middle East and all over the world,’ it said.
Both sides pledged to ‘counter the dangerous development of the situation in that region,’ but gave no details on how they intended to carry that out.
Khaddam met with Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko and Deputy Defense Minister Nikolai Ogarkov during his visit. The communique made no mention of Ogarkov’s presence at the talks, which it said passed ‘in an atmosphere of friendship and mutual understanding.’
The communique said it regarded the strategic cooperation treaty between Israel and the United States a ‘dangerous action, the consequences of which transcend the boundaries of the Middle East.’
It rejected the Camp David accord and called for a comprehensive Middle East peace settlement, with a conference to include the Palestine Liberation Organization.
The two countries condemned Israeli actions against Arab nations, as well as what it called U.S. attempts to increase domination in the Middle East.
‘All this amounts to an encroachment on the rights of the Arab peoples, including the Arab people of Palestine, and poses a threat to universal peace and security.’
The communique praised the ‘steady growth of Soviet-Syrian relations’ and pledged to strengthen them further. It also said meetings between President Leonid Brezhnev and Syrian President Hafez Assad were a ‘major contribution’ toward improving relations.