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Report: Syria Urged to Postpone Arab Summit

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Written by News Editor

Monday, 03 March 2008

Arab League Secretary General 'Amru Mousa has told Syrian officials he wants them to postpone an Arab League summit scheduled to take place in Damascus later this month, for fear that Arab countries would boycott the meeting, according to the London-based A-Sharq Al-Awsat

Mousa wrapped up a two-day visit to Syrian on Saturday, during which he discussed with Syrian leaders the situation in Lebanon and the issues to be discussed at the upcoming summit.

Senior representatives of the 22-member Arab League are scheduled to meet in Damascus on March 27-29.

Mousa said on Sunday the summit would take place as planned, but Arab diplomats told the paper the secretary general asked the Syrian leadership to postpone the meeting.

Mousa, the diplomats said, was expecting many Arab countries to boycott the summit because of the continuing power vacuum in Lebanon, which is expected to be the main focus of the summit.

Syria withdrew its forces from Lebanon in 2005 following public pressure after the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Al-Hariri.

However, many Lebanese believe Syria is still pulling strings behind the scenes and influencing Beirut's political scene.

Critics say Syria is failing to use its influence to end the crisis in Lebanon and that Syria's actions could cause security to deteriorate in the whole region.

Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora has warned the summit will "lose its importance" if Lebanon does not have a president by the time of the meeting.

Lebanon has been without a president since the end of November, when former president Emile Lahoud's term ended. The anti-Syrian majority and the Syrian-backed opposition have agreed on Army Chief Michel Suleiman as a consensus candidate, but the parties are unable to agree on the power structure of the new government. The parliamentary vote for president has already been postponed 15 times.


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Last Updated ( Monday, 03 March 2008 )

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