Austrian chancellor visits Syria
AFP
VIENNA- Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann was expected in Syria late Tuesday where he will meet President Bashar al-Assad before visiting Austrian UN peacekeepers in the Golan Heights, his office said.
On Wednesday, Faymann holds talks with Assad and also visits the Austrian contingent of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) which has been deployed on the Israeli-occupied Golan since 1974.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad with Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann in April 2009
Austria has formed part of UNDOF since its creation and is currently in command of the 10,500-strong force.
Israel seized the strategic plateau in 1967 and annexed it in 1981. Damascus views its return as a non-negotiable demand.
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