Saniora Draws Two Paths for Lebanon Crisis Solution

Premier Fouad Saniora, who is preparing to kick off his second Arab tour, has announced that either a new president is quickly elected or the Lebanese crisis will be handed over to the Arab League to bring closer the views of bickering politicians.

We “either elect a president as soon as possible or (we) hand over the issue to the Arab League” to deal with it, Saniora said in remarks published on Saturday.

 

He said the organization was studying “new procedures to solve the crisis regarding Lebanese-Syrian relations.”

Saniora returned to Beirut on Thursday from a tour to Arab countries aimed at shoring up support for a Lebanese demand to hold an Arab foreign ministers” meeting to discuss strained Lebanese-Syrian ties.

 

An Nahar daily reported Saturday that well-informed Arab sources have said Secretary General Amr Moussa will discuss in Damascus next week with Syrian President Bashar Assad, who is the head of the rotating presidency of the Arab League, the issue of electing a new Lebanese head of state during a parliamentary session scheduled for April 22.

 

The newspaper said the meeting will be held on the basis of a decision made by Arab foreign ministers on March 11 calling for the immediate election of a new president and a decision later in the month by the Arab League to entrust Moussa with resuming his efforts to solve the Lebanese crisis.