Syrian Foreign Minister Halim Khaddam arrived today to meet with Soviet officials and a Western diplomat said the status of embattled PLO leader Yasser Arafat was likely to be a key topic.
The Tass news agency said Khaddam arrived at the invitation of the Soviet government and was met at the airport by Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko and other officials.
Tass gave no indication of what the foreign ministers planned to discuss.
A Western diplomat said Khaddam’s visit was the first public sign of Soviet diplomatic intervention in the crisis since Syrian-backed rebels assaulted Arafat’s strongholds in northern Lebanon a week ago.
The Soviets have been rebuilding the Syrian military since last year’s Israeli invasion of Lebanon and have sent Syria missiles and military personnel to man them.
No confirmed Soviet-Syrian meeting has taken place this year, although unconfirmed reports from Beirut said Syrian President Hafez Assad made a secret visit to Moscow in May.
‘They’ve been resupplying Syria in a big way — to the point where Syria appears to be leading them (the Soviets) around by the nose,’ the diplomat said.
The Soviets could be demanding an explanation of Syrian policy, which is backing the radical faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization seeking to oust Arafat as the guerrilla movements 14-year leader.