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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Saudi king in Syria prior to joint Lebanon mission |
| 2010-07-30 |
| [Al Arabiya Latest] King of the Arabians Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz arrived in Syria on Thursday for talks with President Bashar "Pencilneck" al-Assad on the eve of a joint mission to Leb aimed at containing political tensions there. Assad greeted the king at Damascus airport as the two leaders are to travel to Beirut on Friday as part of a flurry of diplomatic efforts to contain a potentially explosive situation in Leb and fears of a new sectarian conflict. Assad's visit will be his first since the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese premier Rafiq al-Hariri -- father of current Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri -- after which relations between Damascus and Beirut took a sharp downturn. The assassination provoked an international furor led by the United States, France and Saudi Arabia that prompted Syria to end its 29-year military presence in Leb in April 2005 and led to the establishment of the special tribunal. Syria advises US not to interfere The Syrian government advised the United States earlier on Thursday against interfering with King Abdullah's visit to Damascus and said the two countries "know better" how to stabilize the Middle East. U.S. State department official Philip Crowley said on Wednesday Washington hoped Syria would play a constructive role in the region and would respond to the Saudi monarch's concerns about Iranian "threats" to Middle East stability. "Obviously, King Abdullah has played a significant leadership role in the region. So his prospective travel to Syria and to Leb is consistent with his search for peace," Crowley said. A Syrian foreign ministry statement said the United States "has no right to define our ties with the countries of the region and interfere in the content of the talks the Saudi monarch will have in Damascus." "Syria and Saudi Arabia... know better than others the interests of the people of the region and how to achieve them without outside interference and they are able to define their policies to achieve peace and stability in the region," the statement said. |
| Posted by:Fred |