Berri Meets Assad

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on Monday launched an Arab tour by holding talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus on the Lebanon crisis.

 

Syrian Vice President Farouq Sharaa and Foreign Minister Walid Muallem attended the Assad-Berri talks.

Press reports said Berri is to head to Egypt after his Damascus mission for talks with Egyptian and Arab League officials.

 

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia is to make a brief visit to Egypt on Tuesday for talks with President Husni Mubarak on Arab divisions over Lebanon.

 

It could not be determined if the two leaders would hold a joint meeting with Berri, whose office said his tour would include Riyadh, Doha and Paris.

 

Berri would scout stands by Arab leaders on his plan to re-launch national dialogue between the various Lebanese factions prior to a parliamentary session designed to elect a president and scheduled for April 22.

 

News reports said Berri is planning to launch a four-day dialogue as of April 18, in an effort to work out consensus on the Arab initiative.