Saniora Rejects Berri”s Dialogue Offer

Prime Minister Fouad Saniora on Monday rejected an offer made by Speaker Nabih Berri to resume national dialogue, saying only a new President in Lebanon would sponsor all-party national talks.

 

Saniora”s remarks came at the end of a two-day visit to Cairo where he met Egyptian President Husni Mubarak, Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Geith and Arab League chief Amr Moussa in an effort to settle the Lebanon crisis and patch up Beirut-Damascus differences.

 

“We have always said that there are no settlements (to the Lebanon crisis) without dialogue,” Saniora said at a joint press conference with Moussa.

 

“But who stopped dialogue and where is true dialogue held?” Saniora asked.

 

“The person who should conduct a dialogue should be the President of the Republic,” Saniora stressed.

 

Saniora earlier was quoted as saying that contacts were underway between Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Syria to settle the political crisis in Beirut and tackle the deteriorating Lebanese-Syrian relations.

 

“Lebanon has one neighbor, that is Syria, and one enemy, that is Israel,” Saniora said.

 

“The Arab umbrella shadows Lebanon,” he added without further elaboration on the remark.

 

The majority premier is scouting possibilities of requesting a meeting by Arab foreign ministers to tackle the strained Lebanese-Syrian relations.

 

From Cairo, Saniora flew to Abu Dhabi late on Monday, where he held talks with the foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahayan.

 

Saniora is also due to visit Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.