PRESIDENT BASHAR AL-ASSAD HOSTS A DINNER IN HONOR OF ARMENIAN PRESIDENT

SANA – Syrian Arab News Agency
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March 22 2010

Damascus (SANA) President Bashar al-Assad and Mrs. al-Assad hosted on
Monday evening a dinner in honor of Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan
and his wife.

The dinner was attended by the Syrian and Armenian delegations,
senior officials and several social, economic and cultural personnel.

President al-Assad, addressing the attendants, stressed the importance
of historical relations, human, social and cultural links that bring
the Syrian and Armenian peoples together.

"These links make potentials of cooperation and rapprochement between
the two countries without limits.These potentials must be invested
through opening new horizons to reach highest level of economic,
trade and cultural cooperation," President al-Assad said.

He added that this cooperation would serve the interests of the peoples
of the two countries and their role in the region and the world.

"Syria and Armenia live in an important geopolitical region that
big international interests meet and intertwined. This requires that
the two countries cooperate and coordinate and agree on details and
strategies," the president explained.

"Dialogue and understanding among the countries of this region;
recognition and respect of all countries interests is the best way
to solve their problems and boost their position in the international
arena," he said.

President al-Assad pointed out that the Middle East and the Caucasus,
despite the chronic lack of stability have gone a long way in building
normal relations among their countries and peoples.

"Those steps have begun to reap their fruit on the ground through
reducing the impact of external powers and their interventions in
the development of events," he said.

He added that the initiatives in solving problems and plans for these
two regions future have become in the hands of their sons.

"The only obstacle in the way of stability is the Israeli occupation,
which continues the policy of killing, sieging, settlement building,
demolition of Palestinian houses, Judaizing Jerusalem and rejecting
all peace initiatives", President al-Assad added. "Achieving peace
will not be too far when there is a partner from the Israeli side that
believes in just and comprehensive peace based on resolutions of the
international legitimacy and the return of rights to their owners,"
the president stressed.

President Sargsyan, meanwhile, expressed great satisfaction to visit
Syria, the wonderful and hospitable country, stressing that mutual
visits between the two countries had created mutual and full trust .

He said relations between the Syrian and Armenian peoples are unique
and much more than a friendship between two peoples living in the
same area, noting that Syrian-Armenian friendship has a history that
had extended for thousands of years.

"Armenian people owes the Syrian people ,who had always stood by the
Armenian people’s side, a debt of gratitude as Armenians received
hospitality and compassionate treatment by the great Syrian people,"
President Sargsyan said .

Armenians, according to president Sargsyan could integrate in
the social life of this country keeping their identities. He said
brotherly relations which have been tested over the centuries and time
are the best guarantee for cooperation between the two countries and
a testimony on the high-level relations between Armenia and Syria in
all fields.

Fadi Allafi /M.O.