The Syrian Foreign Minister, Abdel Halim Khaddam, is on a short tour of European countries to discuss the situation in the Middle East. On Sunday, (26 June) he arrived in Italy to begin a five-day visit.
Mr. Khaddam was welcomed at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport by his Italian counterpart, Signor Arnaldo Forlani. The Syrian Foreign Minister’s tour is to explain to European leaders his country’s views on finding lasting peace in the Middle East. Syria has been playing a major role in the region. It’s been a strong advocator of a home for the Palestinian people and strongly critical of Israel’s continued occupation of the West Bank of the River Jordan. The Syrians also had a key part in ending 19 months of civil war in Lebanon.
No details have been released of what messages Mr. Khaddam is carrying from the Syrian President, Hafez al-Assad. But it’s thought that hopes for a reconvention of the Geneva Peace Conference on the Middle East will be high on the agenda for discussion. Mr. Khaddam will go on from Italy to France
