Saudi, Bahraini kings meets on Lebanon, Palestine, Iraq

Egypt says coordination with Saudi Arabia aims at boosting joint Arab action

Syria halts cooperation with France over Lebanon

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz and King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain co-chaired a session of talks.

The talks dealt with overall events in the region particularly the developments of the Palestinian cause and the situations in Lebanon and Iraq.

The two sides discussed the development of joint Gulf action within the framework of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the launch of Gulf Common Market on Tuesday. They also reviewed aspects of cooperation between the two countries and ways of their enhancement in all fields.

The session was attended by Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz, Deputy Premier, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General; Prince Miteb bin Abdulaziz, the Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs; Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz, the Governor of Riyadh region; Prince Saud Al-Faisal, the Foreign Minister; Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz, Vice Governor of Riyadh region and Prince Miqren bin Abdulaziz, the Chief of General Intelligence.

On the Bahraini side, it was attended by the delegation accompanying the Bahraini King.

King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa had arrived in Riyadh on an official visit to the country.

At the airport, he was received by Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz, Deputy Premier, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, as well as a number of other princes and officials.

The Bahraini king expressed happiness for visiting Saudi Arabia and meeting Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz, Deputy Premier, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General.

The king of Bahrain considered the visit a good chance to discuss with the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques all issues concerning the two countries and boosting bilateral cooperation and joint work to achieve aspirations and ambitions of the two peoples.

In a statement to Saudi Press Agency after arriving in Riyadh today, he hailed Saudi support for Bahrain and congratulated the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques on the great success of this year's Hajj due to the great efforts by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques personally and the Saudi government.

He also hailed the Saudi projects to expand the two holy mosques and improve services in the holy sites of Hajj.

He highlighted the pioneering role of Saudi Arabia led by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques in serving the causes of the Gulf Cooperation Council and boosting relations among its member states as well as supporting the Arab and Islamic causes, defending them at various arenas and supporting joint Arab work.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Interior Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz, who is also the General Supervisor of the Saudi Committee for the Relief of Palestinian People, has received a message from Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who is also the Chairman of the Executive Committee of Palestine Liberation Organization.

In the message, the President thanked the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for its noble stances towards the Palestinian people.

He also commended the efforts exerted by the Kingdom's leadership, government and people towards the Palestinian cause, adding that the Saudi Popular Committee for the Relief of Palestinian People supervised by Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz has alleviated the suffering of the Palestinian people. The Committee also supported and assisted the Palestinian people through building one hundred housing units under the name of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz City for Widows in addition to a number of projects, he said.

In Cairo Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab Affairs Ambassador Mohammad Badr al-Din said "the Egyptian-Saudi coordination aims at boosting the joint Arab action and not against anyone, denying his knowledge about possible Iraqi reconciliation conference in Cairo."

He asserted that the upcoming Arab summit in Damascus will not be postponed.

The diplomat stressed that "there will be no security or stability in the region without a just and comprehensive settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict."

"Israel's settlements plan is illegal and Egypt rejects it because it hinders the peace process," the Egyptian ambassador noted.

Regarding the Egyptian-Iraqi cooperation, the Egyptian official said "Iraqi foreign minister will visit Egypt next week to discuss with Egyptian officials means to boost bilateral ties in various domains, mainly in trade and economic fields."

On Iraq's demand to reactivate the joint higher committee, he said the issue still on the tapes, highlighting his country's keenness to cooperate and support Iraqi efforts in this stage." "Egypt will set up joint committees with Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain in the coming stage, based on activating the joint action with each country," the diplomat said.

Meanwhile, a government official stressed that France resumed political contacts with Syria only with the intention of arriving at a consensus over the election of a president for Lebanon and did not mean Paris was granting Damascus any pivotal role in solving the Lebanese crisis.

"There was an exchange of views, but there was no document of understanding written up between the two countries concerning Lebanon," Pascal Andriani, the French foreign ministry spokeswoman said.

"France did not grant Syria a pivotal role in settling the Lebanese crisis," Ms. Andriani said in press statements. "It is primarily up to the Lebanese themselves to settle this crisis."

Andriani stressed France's readiness to assist in reaching a settlement in this respect.

Asked about the announcement by Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem that his country was suspending all cooperation with France over Lebanon, Ms Andriani declined direct comment and sufficed by referring to what President Nicolas Sarkozy recently said in Cairo.

Addressing a joint press conference with President Hosni Mubarak last Sunday, Sarkozy dismissed further contacts with Syria over the Lebanese issue.

As to al-Moualem's charges that France notified Damascus of its failure to convince the Lebanese majority of a French-Syrian plan for settling the Lebanese crisis only as an attempt to blame Syria for this failure, Andriani said that what France told the Syrians was that it would halt its political contacts with Syria until it proved its goodwill and a consensus was reached on a Lebanese president.

France's stand was clear in this respect, and was in line with the stand of the European Union (EU) and the international community, she added.

On Sarkozy's call for an international tribunal over Lebanon's political assassinations, she said that was meant to track down the murderers of former Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri "irrespective of whether that represents a pressure factor on Syria". She stressed France's commitment to have this court established the soonest possible.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem said at a press conference that Damascus will have no further contact with France over the Lebanese political standoff.

Lebanon's political leaders have repeatedly failed to reach agreement on a new president. The presidency has been vacant since pro-Syrian Emil Lahoud's term expired on November 23 and a parliamentary vote to elect a president has been postponed 11 times.

"Paris and Damascus have agreed on maintaining the same distance (from the crisis) without Syria having to pressure the Lebanese opposition," al-Moualem said.

He said Syria had been led to believe the deal had the support of Lebanon's Western-backed cabinet but that Sarkozy chief of staff Claude Gueant later revealed it had been vetoed by the head of the pro-government bloc in the Lebanese parliament, Saad Hariri.

"We were surprised to learn of the comments of the French president during a press conference in Cairo in which he said Syria and the Lebanese opposition are responsible for the failure" to end the crisis which has left Lebanon without a president for more than a month, Muallem said.

"On December 28, Syria and France reached agreement on a comprehensive settlement in Lebanon ... providing for the election of a consensus president, the formation of a government of national unity in which every faction would be represented according to its political weight and the drawing up of a fair electoral law," he said.

"After Mr. Sarkozy's statement, Mr. Gueant called me on December 31 to tell me that France had been unable to sell the deal we had agreed on to Saad Hariri.

"I rang Mr. Gueant back in the afternoon and he told me that France had decided to break off contacts.

Lebanon's Syrian- and Iranian-backed opposition has been campaigning for a government of national unity ever since November 2006, when its six ministers quit the cabinet and launched a sit-in outside the government offices.

The opposition refuses to recognize the legitimacy of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's rump cabinet, saying its failure to represent all of the country's myriad confessional and political groups runs roughshod over the power-sharing arrangements in force since the 1975-90 civil war.

The opposition has also called for reform of an electoral system that it says leaves it at a disadvantage. Muallem mocked the French calls for Syria to use its influence saying they flew in the face of repeated Western demands for it to keep out of Lebanon's affairs.

"They keep asking us not to intervene in Lebanon but at the same they ask us to use our influence with our Lebanese allies," the minister complained.

On the U.S. insistence goal not to reach an agreement in Lebanon, the minister said the U.S. should be asked about its stance, pointing out to the differences in opinions between U.S. Administration and congressmen who showed support to the Syrian-French efforts to facilitate a compromise in Lebanon based on the joint coexistence. Al-Moualem pointed out that Syrian-French cooperation to resolve the Lebanese crisis was based on electing a consensus president and forming a national unity government representing the current parliamentary blocs.

Answering a question on the obstructive role of the United States, al-Moualem said that President George W. Bush has declared his support of electing a president using the 'half-plus-one' formula, and that David Walsh had previously stated that his country supports any decision by the majority.

Al-Moualem stressed that the U.S. knows that this direction doesn't guarantee the security and stability of Lebanon, which can only be guaranteed by reconciliation and coexistence, adding "this has been stressed during my meeting with Rice." therefore the US role is clearly obstructing French efforts and the French initiative.

In an answer to a question regarding the upcoming meeting of Arab foreign ministers, al-Moualem expressed hope that the meeting's goal is to involve the Arab league in facilitating a solution among the Lebanese and not interference, adding that Syria will support everyone calls for an agreement in Lebanon based on sharing power and coexistence.

On the US impact on the French stance, al-Moualem said "it was clear from the paper presented to us by the French, which gained our support on December 28th, that France understood the solution in Lebanon must be through full package including the election of a consensus President and forming a national unity government in line with the Parliamentary blocs and a new electoral law."

"We agreed that France will present the paper to Sa'ad al-Hariri and to the Saudis, and in return Syria will present the paper to the opposition who showed a clear response, but we were surprised by the press conference of President Sarkozy," al-Moualem went on.

On whether Syria will attend the Arab Foreign Ministers' meeting on Lebanon or not, Foreign Minister said "Yes, Syria will attend this meeting and will seek the Arab solidarity, not the Arab division."

Regarding Syria's readiness to cooperate with any French, Arab or Foreign side to reach the consensus solution in Lebanon, al-Moualem reaffirmed that "we are still ready to cooperate with friends and brothers who want to facilitate the solution in Lebanon in line with the consensus solution, partnership, and joint coexistence formula.

Al-Moallem noted that a lot of offers were presented to Syria including a visit of French President to Damascus". open ties with Europe" The Association agreement and so on ", saying in spite of that we hope all to know that Syria refused to play the pressing role on the opposition which basically will not accept a pressure from any one". The issue in Lebanon is clear, and whoever wants Lebanon's stability has to believe in the Lebanese formula, the joint coexistence.

The foreign minister wondered "what is the benefit for Syria gaining all these advantages if chaos and disturbance occurred in Lebanon," adding "we are keen on security and stability of Lebanon , the formula of coexistence and agreement among the Lebanese as much as our keenness on Syria's interests.

Al-Moualem underlined that Syria doesn't make deals at the expense of the Lebanese opposition or anyone else, stressing that the international tribunal doesn't concern Syria, as it has repeatedly stated.

Al-Moualem said that Syrian-French relations have many constituents, and that Syria can't dispense with France's role in Europe, and that France can't dispense with Syria in regional issues, saying "The Lebanese election is one issue, but there are many other regional issues that can help relations." adding that if the French were objective, they would admit that Syria made all efforts to facilitate a solution in Lebanon.

A Lebanese parliamentary session called to elect a president was postponed until January 12, the 11th postponement since September. The cabinet has accused the opposition of repeatedly blocking the vote at the behest of Syria after the two sides reached agreement on army chief Michel Suleiman as a compromise candidate. For his part, Parliamentary majority leader Saad Hariri charged that Syria's claims of "equal footing" with the Lebanese factions have been exposed as false in Arab and world eyes.

In a statement, Hariri said that he considered "the stances of the Syrian leadership toward Lebanon have become exposed at the international and Arab levels and belie claims that it stands on a footing of equality with the Lebanese parties".

The Lebanese parliamentarian also charged that Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem uncovered in his press conference in Damascus that he had been negotiating with the French government in the name of the Lebanese opposition factions "as an inroad to interfering in Lebanon's internal affairs to ... keep the presidential post suspending".

Hariri lashed out at Moualem over several aspects of his press conference and said that the words of the Foreign Minister were "meant to say that the fate of the conciliation process was still in Damascus and any new president ... cannot find his way to the Republican Palace without acquiring a document of complete understanding with the Syrian regime".

The parliamentary majority leader also charged Syria that it was turning Lebanon into a "card of blackmail and bargaining with any international party," expressing fear that Moualem's words may be a "threatening message" to destabilize Lebanon.

Hariri urged the international community and the upcoming Arab Foreign Ministers' emergency session to note that Syria was attempting to impede any Arab positive effort to end Lebanon's political crisis and to block any assistance to the Lebanese to break out from the impasse over a new president.

Meanwhile, the Lebanese army opened fire into the air to disperse a clash which erupted in the Basta neighborhood of Beirut between supporters of the Sunni Future Movement and Shiite Hezbollah and Amal groups. Seven people were hurt in the clash. The clash started on Monday when unidentified individuals in the area tore down and burned a giant poster of slain former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri.

Future Movement officials said they cordoned off the scene and took measures to prevent escalation. Tension increased, however, on Mamoun Street, when Future Movement supporters attempted to re-erect a picture of Hariri and his son MP Saad Hariri.

Clashes erupted between Future supporters and others, including Amal Movement and Hezbollah supporters, who refused to let the Hariri poster be erected "in their area."

Future Movement sources expressed readiness to remove political posters from all regions if the opposition would do the same, it added.

"It is a failed attempt to initiate a row on the eve of the Arab foreign ministers' meeting aimed at discussing the situation in Lebanon," Future said in a statement Tuesday.

Future news channel quoted March 14 sources as saying that information was available regarding the opposition's "intention" to stoke tension. "Syria's allies were preparing to reply to the French and Egyptian accusations of Damascus' of involvement in the assassination of Hariri and the obstruction of the presidential elections in Lebanon," the sources said.

The Amal Movement issued a statement denying Future news channel's reports about the involvement of its supporters in the clashes. "The way it was covered by the media does not serve Lebanon's interest," it said.

On the other hand, Fatah Leader in Lebanon Sultan Abul Einien urged Lebanese not to use the Palestinian cause and Palestinians' sufferings in their internal conflicts. In his word delivered during Fatah 43rd anniversary celebrations in al-Rashidiya refugees camp in southern Lebanon, the official said "We insist to be a security and stability factor in Lebanon and we proved that in Nahr al-Bared refugee camp incidents.

He described U.S. President George Bush's coming visit as "historic", demanding him to put an end to the Israeli practices and urging the international community to bear its responsibility towards the Arab-Israeli conflict.