Post by Salem6 on Jan 6, 2004 9:06:30 GMT
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad begins a visit to Turkey on Tuesday, the first ever by a Syrian head of state to its northern neighbour.
President Assad's three-day visit is being seen as the culmination of a warming in relations between the two neighbours after decades of mistrust.
Syria's Assad has sought to bring the two countries closer
The war in Iraq, which borders both countries, has contributed to the thaw.
On the eve of the visit, Mr Assad hinted that his country could have weapons of mass destruction.
In an interview with the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph, he said it was "natural for us to look for means to defend ourselves".
He added: "It is not difficult to get those weapons anywhere in the world".
Verge of war
The BBC's Steve Bryant in Turkey says that for Syria, accused by the United States of supporting terrorism, friendship with US ally Turkey is a valuable prize in itself.
Mr Assad's father, Hafiz al-Assad - who ruled Syria for 30 years until his death in June 2000 - viewed Turkey with suspicion as an ally of his two main enemies, the US and Israel.
Syria accused Turkey of depriving it of water from the River Euphrates.
Turkey, meanwhile, accused Syria of harbouring Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan, whose Kurdistan Workers' Party was fighting a long and bloody war in south-east Turkey.
That issue brought the two countries to the verge of war in 1998.
But since he succeeded his father, Mr Assad has sought to end the poor relations between the two countries.
Now Damascus turns a blind eye to Turkey's alliance with Israel.
And after the bomb attacks in Istanbul late last year, Syria handed over 22 Turks suspected of involvement.
Turkey and Syria have common interests in Iraq. Both have sizeable Kurdish populations and neither wants to see the Kurds of Iraq winning independence under the new constitution there.
President Assad says Iraq is the biggest problem facing the two countries today.
"Iraq's future is bound to the future of all of us," he said before his departure.
"For that reason, the break-up of Iraq would be a red line, not only as far as Syria and Turkey are concerned, but for all the countries in the region."
President Assad's three-day visit is being seen as the culmination of a warming in relations between the two neighbours after decades of mistrust.
Syria's Assad has sought to bring the two countries closer
The war in Iraq, which borders both countries, has contributed to the thaw.
On the eve of the visit, Mr Assad hinted that his country could have weapons of mass destruction.
In an interview with the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph, he said it was "natural for us to look for means to defend ourselves".
He added: "It is not difficult to get those weapons anywhere in the world".
Verge of war
The BBC's Steve Bryant in Turkey says that for Syria, accused by the United States of supporting terrorism, friendship with US ally Turkey is a valuable prize in itself.
Mr Assad's father, Hafiz al-Assad - who ruled Syria for 30 years until his death in June 2000 - viewed Turkey with suspicion as an ally of his two main enemies, the US and Israel.
Syria accused Turkey of depriving it of water from the River Euphrates.
Turkey, meanwhile, accused Syria of harbouring Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan, whose Kurdistan Workers' Party was fighting a long and bloody war in south-east Turkey.
That issue brought the two countries to the verge of war in 1998.
But since he succeeded his father, Mr Assad has sought to end the poor relations between the two countries.
Now Damascus turns a blind eye to Turkey's alliance with Israel.
And after the bomb attacks in Istanbul late last year, Syria handed over 22 Turks suspected of involvement.
Turkey and Syria have common interests in Iraq. Both have sizeable Kurdish populations and neither wants to see the Kurds of Iraq winning independence under the new constitution there.
President Assad says Iraq is the biggest problem facing the two countries today.
"Iraq's future is bound to the future of all of us," he said before his departure.
"For that reason, the break-up of Iraq would be a red line, not only as far as Syria and Turkey are concerned, but for all the countries in the region."