Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Sultanov is expected to visit Beirut on Saturday in an attempt to shore up support for his country”s plans to host a Middle East peace conference.
An Nahar daily said Wednesday that Sultanov”s visit to Lebanon comes as part of a regional tour that will also take him to Damascus, Tel Aviv, Ramallah and Cairo.
Russia, a member of the international quartet of nations trying to broker a Mideast peace, has offered to host a follow-up conference to the U.S.-brokered negotiations held in Annapolis, Maryland, in 2007 to re-launch peace negotiations between Israel and the Arabs.
The Russian move is aimed at drawing into the Middle Eastern countries” attention that attempts by Paris to host a similar peace conference is aimed at thwarting Moscow”s plans, An Nahar said.
However, sources at the Lebanese foreign ministry said that there is a difference between what France is calling for and the decisions reached at the Annapolis conference.
The sources told An Nahar that President Nicolas Sarkozy is planning to hold a general peace conference similar to the Madrid conference in which Arab and Western countries would take part.