CAIRO: Arab foreign ministers opened talks here Wednesday on the agenda of a summit scheduled for later this month amid a dispute with Syria, the host, over Lebanon’s political crisis.
US-backed Arab states, such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt, are reportedly threatening to boycott the March 29-30 gathering if no president is elected in Lebanon by then.
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallam, speaking to reporters before Wednesday’s talks got underway, said the summit will go ahead as planned regardless of any boycotts.
“The preparations are in full swing and [the summit] will be held as scheduled, he said.
In his opening address, Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa appeared to dismiss the possibility that the summit could be canceled or postponed because of the dispute with Syria.
“The summit will be held later this month, God willing, he said, citing regional “dangers and challenges that, he added, necessitated the meeting going ahead as planned.
At the heart of Lebanon’s crisis is the three-month presidential deadlock that moderate Arab countries blame on Syria and its Lebanese allies, such as Hezbollah.
The failure to elect a new Lebanese president has compounded a yearlong power struggle between the Western-backed government of Prime Minister Fouad Seniora and the opposition led by Hezbollah.
In January, Arab foreign ministers – including Moallam – unanimously adopted the so-called Arab plan for Lebanon. The blueprint backs Lebanese Army Gen. Michel Suleiman as the country’s next president, calls on Lebanon to form a national unity government and adopt a new election law.
But several attempts by Moussa have since failed to convince the Lebanese parties and Syria to end the dispute on the basis of the plan, prompting Egypt and Saudi Arabia to link the summit to a settlement of the Lebanese crisis.
“Insisting on a settlement of the Lebanese crisis before the summit arises from its [likely] negative impact on the summit, which should be held in a healthy atmosphere, Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit, said this week.
Saudi Arabia has so far refused to set a date for Moallam to travel to Riyadh to deliver an invitation to King Abdullah to attend the summit.
On Tuesday, the European Union joined calls for the quick election of a Lebanese president ahead of the Damascus summit.
“We’d like very much to see the crisis closed before the Arab League summit, EU foreign policy Chief Javier Solana said in Beirut Tuesday.
Syria fears that shelving the annual summit, the first to be held in Damascus, will further isolate President Bashar Assad’s regime which faces charges of meddling in neighboring Lebanon.
