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DAMASCUS: Syria hosts its first Arab summit this
weekend and faces a boycott by heads of state from a number of
regional heavyweights which blame Damascus for the political crisis
gripping Lebanon.
Egypt and Saudi Arabia will send
only low-level delegations to the meeting in Damascus on Saturday
and Sunday, while diplomatic sources said Jordan and Morocco will
also be represented by lower-level officials.
The snubs underscore the anger
with Syria over the protracted political crisis in Lebanon that has
left the country without a president since November amid accusations
Damascus has blocked efforts to elect a successor.
Foreign ministers from the
22-member Arab League were to meet in Damascus on Thursday to
prepare for the summit, with heads of state or their representatives
expected to arrive today.
Lebanon said Tuesday it would
refuse to take part because of what it termed Syria’s negative
role in Beirut’s protracted crisis while Egypt and Saudi Arabia
said they blamed Damascus for obstructing the election.
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid
Muallem said Lebanon has “lost a golden opportunity to discuss the
crisis and strengthen the Arab initiative for solution.”
Syria, which held sway in
Lebanese affairs for decades before it was forced to withdraw its
troops from the country in 2005, is accused of blocking the election
of a successor to former President Emile Lahoud.
Egypt and Saudi Arabia, which
back the government of pro-Western Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad
Siniora, already announced their leaders will boycott the summit.
Egypt will be represented by
State Minister for Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Mufid Shehab,
while oil powerhouse Saudi Arabia, a major supporter of the Lebanese
government, is sending Arab League Ambassador Ahmad Qattan.
Iran, also accused by the West of
meddling in Lebanon’s affairs, is sending Foreign Minister
Manouchehr Mottaki to the summit. Tehran denies the claims and says
it is making efforts to boost fragile relations with neighbors.
The United States, which also
backs Siniora, last week called for Arab countries to reflect before
deciding to participate in the summit and also accused Damascus of
paralyzing Lebanese politics.
London-based pan-Arab newspaper
Asharq al-Awsat on Wednesday quoted Syrian Vice-President Faruq al-Shara
as saying that “countries that do not attend the summit will
regret it,” without elaborating.
Lebanon is in the midst of a
standoff between the government and the Hezbollah-led opposition
after pro-Syrian Lahoud stepped down at the end of his mandate on
November 23.
The Lebanese crisis, the worst
since the end of the country’s 1975 to 1990 civil war, is widely
seen as an extension of the conflict pitting the United States and
its regional allies against Syria and Iran.
On Monday, a 17th session of
parliament to elect a successor to Lahoud was postponed. A new
session has been set for April 22.
Analysts predicted a weak turnout
and few results by the end of the summit.
“No one expects much from this
summit,” Mohammed Sayed Said, editor in chief of Egyptian daily
Al-Badeel, told Agence France-Presse. He added he anticipated little
more than a broad final statement calling for “Lebanon’s
national unity or some such.”
Egypt’s state-owned daily Al-Ahram
said in an editorial Sunday that the Lebanese crisis seems to have
polarized member states.
“This summit will be one that
confirms Arab differences instead of being a summit of Arab unity in
these times.”
--AFP
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