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Crown Prince Abdullah on reconciliation visit to Syria
 Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah, on a regional tour that earlier took him to Syria for reconciliation after months of tension, met with the Jordanian leader to discuss Mideast peacemaking and Iraq. The Saudi prince held a 90-minute meeting with King Abdullah II of Jordan, the third stop in a regional swing that has also taken him to Egypt. Saudi diplomats, insisting on anonymity, said Abdullah briefed regional leaders on his recent visits to the United States and France, but offered no further details.Earlier in Damascus, the Saudi prince held talks with President Bashar Assad in the first meeting since ties strained two months ago over strong Saudi pressure on Damascus to pull out of Lebanon or risk damaging relations. Syria ended 29 years of military presence in Lebanon on April 26. Syrian Information Minister Mahdi Dakhlallah said that Abdullah's visit was within the framework of "continued coordination" between the two Arab countries. He declined to elaborate. Asked whether Saudi Arabia was working to improve strained relations between Syria and the United States, Dakhlallah said: "When Arabs meet, they discuss issues concerning Arabs and Arab relations." Posted by: Fred 2005-05-10 |
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