Middle East: UN envoy meets with Syrian President
11 May 2004 – The senior United Nations envoy for the Middle East, Terje Roed-Larsen, met with Syrian President Bashar Assad today for talks on the situation in the region, particularly the stalled peace process.
Speaking to reporters in Damascus a day after holding similar talks with senior officials in Lebanon, Mr. Roed-Larsen said the Israeli plan to withdraw from Gaza must take place in such a manner that it can be defined as the end of the occupation of Gaza.
"It has to be clean and full," he stressed, adding that such a pullback must be linked to similar withdrawals from the West Bank and within the framework of the Road Map put forward by the so-called Quartet – UN, European Union, Russian Federation and United States. That plan calls for a series of parallel and reciprocal steps to be taken the by the Israelis and Palestinians, leadings to two states living side-by-side in peace by 2005.
Mr. Roed-Larsen also said any solution to the Middle East conflict has to take place within the broader framework of a comprehensive solution encompassing the Lebanese and Syrian tracks, and that lasting peace in the region could not be achieved without such an agreement.
Document Sources: United Nations Department of Public Information (DPI), United Nations News Service, United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO)
Country: Syria
Subject: Middle East situation, Peace process, Peace proposals and efforts, Quartet, Road Map
Publication Date: 11/05/2004