Syrian President going to Libya for merger talks

Syrian President Hafez al-Assad will fly to Libya Monday for talks with the Libyan strong man, Col. Muammar al- Qaddafi, on the proposed merger between the two countries, the Syrian government announced Sunday. Western diplomatic experts were taken by surprise by the announcement. They had believed it was more likely that Colonel Qaddafi, who came up with the merger idea, would take his proposal to Damascus. Some Arab sources speculate that official proclamation of a Libyan-Syrian merger might be made Sept. 28 as a tribute to Egypt's late President and Qaddafi's hero, Gamal Abdel Nasser.