Presidential Void Could Lead Saudi, Egypt to Boycott Arab Summit

Saudi Arabia”s King Abdullah and Egyptian head of state Hosni Mubarak are likely to boycott an upcoming Arab Summit slated to be held in Syria unless a president is elected in Lebanon.

 

The daily An Nahar on Monday, citing diplomats and analysts, said Abdullah and Mubarak will likely not attend the summit to take place in Damascus March 27-28, unless a settlement to the Lebanon political crisis was

found.

 

“What we heard is that unless a president is elected in Lebanon, King Abdullah and Hosni Mubarak will not attend (the summit),” one high-ranking diplomat in Riyadh said.

 

Another diplomat saw that Saudi Arabia will remain at loggerheads with Syria over Lebanon, given that

Damascus considers its small neighbor critical to its national security while Riyadh has long regarded Lebanon as part of its sphere of influence.

 

Analyst Mustafa Allani, who has good relations with Saudi Arabia, said from Dubai that Damascus accepted to receive a high-ranking Saudi delegation to the summit.