Assad abruptly cancels Moscow visit

Monday, April 12, 1999

MOSCOW [Middle East Newsline] -- Syrian President Hafez Assad on Sunday cancelled a visit to Russia that was to have begun the following day, officials said.

Russian diplomatic sources said the Assad visit -- which would have been the first since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 -- was cancelled on the request of the Syrians. They did not elaborate.

A Syrian spokesman said the visit was postponed in accordance with both Damascus and Moscow.

Both Russian and Syrian sources said Assad would reschedule his visit in the near future. No date was set.

Diplomatic sources said the Assad visit could have been cancelled because the Syrian president was angered by the arrival of Israeli Foreign Minister Ariel Sharon in Moscow for meetings with his Russian counterpart, Igor Ivanov.

The cancellation of Assad's visit appeared to surprise Syrian officials themselves. The Syrian-controlled media on Saturday published the high hopes by Damascus for the Assad visit. "Syrian-Russian relations have started to warm up in the last few years and it is expected that they will get stronger and recover their momentum after President Assad's visit and his talks with his Russian counterpart Boris Yeltsin," Syrian radio said.

Russian officials said Assad was to have discussed military purchases of up to $2 billion of Russian military equipment, including jet fighters, anti-aircraft systems and aircraft upgrades. They said Assad and Yeltsin were also expected to have tried to resolve Syria's $11 billion debt from previous arms purchases by Damascus.