Assad Annoys France, Qatar Over Lebanon
France and Qatar have been "annoyed" by Syrian President Bashar Assad”s stand that cast doubt on the situation in Lebanon and relayed their stands to Damascus, the daily newspaper An-Nahar reported on Saturday
The report was attributed to diplomatic sources familiar with the quadripartite summit held in Damascus earlier in the week.
France and Qatar relayed their stands to the "Syrian side clearly," the report added.
The Emir of Qatar Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani openly expressed reservation over the Assad assessment of the Lebanon situation that he had described as "fragile" by stating that the situation is not alarming as long as the "army remained intact."
An-Nahar also quoted observers as noting that Assad by claiming to have asked President Michel Suleiman to send more troops to north Lebanon wanted to "indicate that Lebanon”s army is not capable of settling the situation."
"This raises questions about a possible programmed scheme that aims at justifying Syrian (military) intervention at a later stage," the observers said.
The pan-Arab daily al-Hayat quoted a ranking French source as saying Assad had complained to Sarkozy against "problems with a faction in Lebanon that is not prepared for normal relations with Syria."
However, Sarkozy informed Assad that "the gradual building of confidence is based on implementing commitments" made in previous meetings, the report added.