Assad, Abdullah Reiterate Need for Calm and Dialogue in Lebanon

18/10/2010 Syrian President Bashar Assad discussed with Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdel-Aziz series of issues in the region including Lebanese current crisis.

According to the Syrian News Agency SANA said that the two Arab leaders "reiterated the need for resuming the course of calming and dialogue to bolster the national accord and internal stability, and giving priority to Lebanon's higher interests to resolve all differences and fend off external dangers."

The official Saudi news agency, SPA, said the Assad-Abdullah talks touched on the tensions over the indictment which will be release by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) over the 2005 assassination of former Prime Miniter Rafik Hariri.

SPA said the meeting at Riyadh air base focused on "the latest developments in Islamic and Arab plans and the positions of the two countries, primarily on the Palestinian question."

It said Assad left after the talks but did not elaborate on his discussions with the king.

Media reports said that Prime Minister Saad Hariri who was in Saudi Arabia on a family visit was to attend the summit on Sunday, but Lebanese officials said had not been scheduled to join Abdullah and Assad in their discussions.

The Riyadh meeting followed a July 30 summit in Baabda between Assad, Abdullah and Hariri aimed at maintaining peace in the country.

Also on Sunday, Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt said that the "Saudi-Syrian axis is the guarantee of stability in Lebanon.”

Jumblatt voiced hope that the meeting between Assad and Abdullah will produce positive results. He added that it is natural for any Lebanese to seek good relations with Syria, saying the refusal to recognize this reality has cost Lebanon dearly in the past.

For his part, Speaker Nabih Berri said that Lebanon is safe from strife over the Special Tribunal for Lebanon’s (STL) indictment as long as Syrian-Saudi relations remain good.

"But the solution must come from the Lebanese themselves," he added during an interview with Al-Quds al-Arabi newspaper published on Sunday.

On the situation in Palestine and Iraq, SANA also said Assad and Abdullah "discussed the latest developments in the Arab and regional arenas, particularly the situation in Palestine, with both sides affirming that Israel's actions for the Judaization of state and its continuing siege on Gaza undermine all endeavors to achieve peace and stability in the region."

"Talks also touched upon the developments in Iraq and the efforts exerted to form an Iraqi government, stressing the need for parliamentary blocs to unite their efforts and give precedence to national interest and form a national unity government that represents all spectrums of the Iraqi people and is capable of preserving the unity, security and stability of Iraq," Syrian News Agency added.

Abdallah to Assad: 'This is what we want from Iran ... '

" ... As you know, we have inflated the impasse in Iraq to make it sound more ominous ...when in reality all we want are Iranian 'guarantees' that the Arab Shia'as of the Gulf will remain 'quiescent'... I believe you can facilitate that correspondence?! right? As for Lebanon, we think we can barter further with you there, ... we have learned 'brinkmanship' could pay, and we will push & pull further, when all fails,  we will accept the 'solution' you peddle: The termination of all legal agreements between the STL & the State of Lebanon, end Lebanon's funding and the 'resignation' (most voluntary) of Lebanese judges ..."

Posted by G, Z, or B at 4:21 PM

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