Kahwaji Thanks Assad for Syria΄s Support for Army

Source: Agencies, 1-12-2008
Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) Commander Jean Kahwaji met Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus over the weekend to discuss different methods of cooperation between the armies of both countries. According to the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency, the talks focused on the issues of border control and demarcation and exchanging information and military expertise.
News reports in Beirut on Sunday also said Kahwaji discussed with Assad the fate of missing Lebanese soldiers, whose whereabouts remain unknown since 1990.

The Syrian president reportedly praised the Lebanese Army's role in protecting stability in Lebanon "despite all attempts to undermine the military establishment, which is the strongest guarantee for Lebanon's unity."
Kahwaji also thanked Assad for "Syria's continuous and honest backing of the LAF," stressing that the Lebanese Army "will continue to face suspicious plots that are aimed at undermining Lebanon's unity and stability.
The LAF commander also met on Saturday with Syrian Defense Minister Ali Hassan Turkmani and the military's chief of staff, General Ali Habib.
A statement released by the Lebanese Army said that Kahwaji and Turkmani had discussed recent developments as well as ways to develop ties between the two armies.
The statement added that Kahwaji had also discussed "issues of mutual interest" with Habib, who received him at the Jdaidet Yabous border crossing.
Such issues included "Israeli" threats, coordinating efforts and exchanging security information on combating terrorism, controlling borders and blocking smuggling.
The two commanders also discussed bolstering cooperation in the fields of military training and logistics.
Kahwaji was not Lebanon's first senior security official to visit Damascus following President Michel Sleiman's visit to the Syrian capital in September. Internal Security Forces head Major General Ashraf Rifi and General Security chief Major General Wafiq Jezzini visited Damascus earlier last month as members of a delegation which was headed by Interior Minister Ziyad Baroud.