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GV: Plane taxiing on tarmac at Damascus airport
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Syrian President Hafez Al-Assad and officials waiting to greet arrivals.
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GV: President of South Yemen Abdul-Fattah Ismail and others leave plane and are greeted by Al-Assad
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MV: Ismail and Al-Assad seated talking.
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Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Background: Bahrain has said Egypt's offer of military assistance is premature -- despite threats of annexation which have been made by senior Iranian religious leaders. Bahrain's Minister of Information, Mr. Tariq al Moayyed, says there is no indication at present of a direct threat from Iran's Islamic Government. Recently, Ayatollah Rouhani and other Iranian religious leaders have revived Iran's claims to Bahrain. Bahrain says the claims are a direct interference in its internal affairs -- and those of other Gulf states. Earlier this month, Saudi Arabian and Kuwaiti representatives visited Bahrain -- and Bahrain says the visits were part of a policy by the Gulf States of taking unified action on security.

SYNOPSIS: On Wednesday (10 October), the President of South Yemen, Abdul-Fattah Ismail, arrived in Damascus for talks with the Syrian President, Hafez Al-Assad. President Al-Assad has offered assistance in mediating to improve relations between Iran and the Arab world.

Mr. Ismail had just completed a visit to Bulgaria and he stopped off in Damascus for brief talks with the Syrian leader. Topics discussed by the two men were not disclosed.

But the week before Mr. Ismail joined the leaders of Iraq, Kuwait and Bahrain in rejecting a plan -- proposed by the Sultanate of Oman -- to have Western countries help provide security in the Gulf. Oman's plan is aimed at getting oil consumers -- as well as oil producers -- to help protect the Straits of Hormuz -- the entrance to the Gulf.