Mubarak Reportedly Going to Syria

BEIRUT, Lebanon —  Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was expected to travel to Syria today, a sign of improvement in relations between the two Arab nations, which have been at odds since Egypt signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1979, a Beirut daily newspaper reported Monday.

The leftist As-Safir newspaper, quoting Arab sources in Cairo, said that Mubarak would pay a two-day visit to Syria starting today and would meet with President Hafez Assad.

Mubarak’s expected visit to Damascus followed talks with Syrian Vice President Abdel-Halim Khaddam held in Cairo on Saturday, the sources said. Khaddam delivered a message from Assad to Mubarak during his 24-hour trip to Egypt.

Egyptian-Syrian ties started to warm last year after Cairo recognized a Palestinian state in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip declared by Yasser Arafat, chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization. Syria considers itself a defender of the Palestinian cause.