SYRIA: Louis Michel, the European Union's Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, meets Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem

Louis Michel, the European Union's Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, met with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem on Sunday (April 29). "We can organise a lot of projects in the health sector, in the education sector, in the agriculture sector, in training sector so we can bring this expertise. We can also see in which way we find and send new operators in order to help so this can pave the way for a close and efficient co-operation on this issue", said Michel. The Damascus government has appealed for international help in providing basic services to the refugees, saying thousands are arriving daily. Michel, who is on a regional tour, also visited a housing project for Palestinian refugees. Syria hosts 435,000 Palestinian refugees registered with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency. Although Syria allows Iraqi refugees, it has denied entry to more than 1,000 Palestinian residents of Baghdad who fled attacks against them there and took shelter in camps on the Iraqi-Syrian border. Syria says other countries in the region, including Israel, should take a proportion of the Palestinian refugees fleeing violence in Iraq. The issue of Iraqi refugees has helped Syria lessen the isolation imposed on Damascus by its Western adversaries. The European Union froze talks on an economic agreement with Damascus after the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese premier Rafik al-Hariri in Beirut. Javier Solana, the European Union's foreign policy chief, visited Damascus in March, ending the freeze on high-level contacts. A United Nations investigation implicated senior Lebanese and Syrian security officials in the assassination. Damascus denies involvement.

ITN Source | April 29, 2007

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