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Damascus summit at risk over Lebanon crises
Thursday, 21 February, 2008 @ 4:20 PM


Beirut / Riyadh - Lebanon's political crisis has damaged relations between Syria and Saudi Arabia, putting at risk next month's Arab summit in Damascus, Arab officials in Riyadh warned on Thursday.




"There is a crisis in ties with the Syrian government, with Lebanon the main reason," a Saudi official said, asking not to be named.

"Damascus has not joined in efforts, including the Arab initiative, to elect a consensus president" in Lebanon, which has been left without a head of state since November amid deadlock between pro- and anti-Syrian camps, he said.

The Arab League plan calls for the election of army chief General Michel Suleiman as consensus president, followed by the formation of a national unity government in which the opposition has veto power, and a new electoral law.

Despite agreement on Suleiman, the League has failed to nail down an accord on power-sharing in a new government between the Western- and Saudi-backed parliamentary majority and the opposition, supported by Damascus and Tehran.

"I call on all those with influence to help with the success of the Arab initiative," Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said on Wednesday from Buenos Aires, in an indirect reference to Damascus.

He warned that Lebanon was "on the verge of civil war."

A member of Saudi Arabia's appointed consultative council, Mohammed al-Zulfa, recalled that the 2005 assassination of Lebanon's former premier Rafik Hariri, who also held Saudi nationality, had affected ties with Damascus.

Syria has repeatedly fought off charges that it was behind the killing.

"The situation is worsening, as the kingdom believes the Syrian government is blocking efforts to settle the Lebanese crisis, especially with the Arab plan which had passed... with Syria's accord," he said.

Zulfa explained that Saudi Arabia was "upset at Iran's growing influence in Lebanon and the region at the expense of Arab interests, with Syria's help."

Behind the scenes of the political crisis in Lebanon lurks the international tribunal being set up to establish the truth behind the Hariri murder, added Saudi academic Khalid al-Dakhil.

"Damascus defines its relations with other countries on the basis of their attitude towards the tribunal. And because Riyadh favors setting up the trial the Syrian regime sees this as an unfriendly stance, even hostile."

http://yalibnan.com/site/archives/2008/02/saudisyria_cris.php