Palestinians promise to coordinate with Syria in peace negotiations

A visiting envoy for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas promised Monday to continue coordination with Syria as the Palestinians work to reach a peace agreement with Israel before the end of next year. Former Palestinian Authority prime minister Ahmed Qurei's comments came after a meeting with Syrian Vice President Farouk al-Sharaa and Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem to discuss the recent US-sponsored Mideast peace conference, which set the stage for renewed Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. "We announce that we will stay in full coordination with Syria and the Arabs" during future negotiations, Qurei said.