The Syrian Embassy has emphatically denied recent press reports of a meeting said to have taken place here between an Israeli Cabinet minister and a Syrian emissary of President Hafez al-Assad.
Le Soir, the country’s largest daily, reported that the Syrian met in Brussels at the end of May with Ariel Sharon, Israel’s minister of industry and trade and a powerful figure in the Likud bloc.
The newspaper, crediting “reliable Israeli and Arab sources” for its information, described the Syrian as a businessman close to Assad who carried “a diplomatic passport.”
A statement issued by the Syrian Embassy called the story a “fabrication” which “we categorically deny.”
Le Soir insists its report is correct, and said that certain other sources here have confirmed preparations for the meeting, which took place on May 29.
Sharon was here on a one-day visit to meet with Herut party sympathizers in Belgium.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
