Palestinian, Syrian presidents meet as faction leaders boycott

May 14, 2009, 17:54 GMT

Damascus - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met with his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad on Thursday during his one-day visit to Damascus. The meeting came as exiled Palestinian leaders in Syria refused to meet Abbas.

Abbas and al-Assad discussed the current situation in the Palestinian territories, including reconciliation talks between the different Palestinian factions. Other topics included the peace process, relations with Israel, and regional issues.

Al-Assad indicated that achieving reconciliation between all Palestinian factions is the main basis for reaching peace.

Egyptian-brokered talks on forming a national unity government are scheduled to enter their fifth round in Cairo on May 16.

The Syrian president also stressed the necessity for working to opening crossings into Palestinian territories and lifting the Israeli siege on the Gaza Strip, which was imposed since the Islamist group Hamas took over the Strip in June 2007.

Leaders of Palestinian groups residing in Syria decided to boycott Abbas' visit and not to meet him because they believe 'his organizational and political moves are illegitimate and illegal,' the factions said in a statement on Thursday.

Syria hosts political leaders from Hamas and other Palestinian factions in Damascus.

'The resistance forces are not interested in politically supporting Abbas' moves or statements regarding the establishment of a government that distances itself from national interests, and are also uninterested in supporting his visit to Washington,' said the statement.

Abbas is expected to travel to Washington to meet US President Barak Obama, who will also receive Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before the end of the month.

Abbas' visit to Damascus comes three days after a visit by Jordan's King Abdullah II, who went for talks with al-Assad on proposals to restart the Israeli-Arab peace process.

Syria and Israel both claim the Golan Heights, a plateau on the border of Syria, Lebanon, and Israel that Israel occupied in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.