DAMASCUS, Dec 6: Syria and the Palestine Liberation Organization opened a new chapter in their often turbulent ties on Monday, saying they wanted to coordinate their efforts to make peace with Israel.

Under Yasser Arafat's leadership of the PLO, its relations with Syria were stormy for most of the past three decades, and hit a low after the Palestinians signed the Oslo peace deals with Israel in 1993.

Syria, whose own negotiations with Israel later foundered, blasted the Palestinians at the time, saying they had shattered a joint Arab approach aimed at reaching peace with Israel on all tracks simultaneously. But Syrian and PLO officials exchanged conciliatory notes after Mr Arafat's death. -Reuters