Damascus: Paying a significant visit to the volatile West Asian region, Prime Minster Atal Bihari Vajpayee today (Nov 15) assured the Arab world that India fully supported the Palestinian cause and early restoration of sovereignty to the people of Iraq, which is next door to Syria facing American sanctions.

Accused by Washington of being a "rogue nation" with ties to terrorist groups, the young Syrian President Bashar al Assad welcomed the stand of Vajpayee, who also told him that Israel should withdraw its forces from Palestinian cities as well as other occupied lands, including this country's Golan Heights.

The 38-year old Syrian President and the veteran Indian statesman, 40 years his senior, reviewed the situation in Iraq and rest of the region and held extensive talks on the second day of the first visit by an Indian Prime Minster to this country of 17 million in 15 years.

PTI