March 4, 2005

THE LEBANESE ISSUE AT THE CORE OF PRINCE ABDULLAH'S TALKS WITH THE SYRIAN PRESIDENT. RIYAHD ADVISES SYRIA TO WITHDRAW IMMEDIATELY ITS TROOPS FROM LEBANON TO AVOID FACING DIFFICULTIES. PRINCE SAUD AL-FAISAL: THE TALKS ARE FRUITFUL AND CONSTRUCTIVE, THEIR POSITIVE RESULTS WILL APPEAR SOON. Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Deputy Prime Minister and Commander of the National Guard, and Syrian President Dr. Bashar Al-Assad held a meeting at the crown prince's palace in Riyadh. During the meeting, which was described as constructive and fruitful, they discussed the overall developments at the Arab, Islamic and International arenas in addition to the aspects of cooperation between the two countries and ways of enhancing them in all fields. On the Saudi side, the meeting was attended by Prince Mit'eb Ibn Abdul Aziz, Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs; Prince Saud Al-Faisal, the Foreign Minister; Prince Sattam Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Vice Governor of Riyadh Region; Iyad Ibn Ameen Madani, the Minister of Culture and Information; other princes, ministers and officials. On the Syrian side, it was attended by Farouq Al Shar'a, the Foreign Minister and Dr. Ahmed Nidhamuddin, Syria's Ambassador to the Kingdom. Agence France Presse and Reuters said Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz urged Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad to pull his troops out of Lebanon "rapidly" in accordance with UN Security Council demands, a Saudi official said. "Prince Abdullah advised President Assad to withdraw rapidly from Lebanon and to announce a timetable for the pullout to contain the Lebanese crisis and the international pressure on Syria," the official said. Crown Prince Abdullah told Syria's President Bashar Al-Assad to meet international demands to start withdrawing troops from Lebanon immediately, Saudi officials said. According to one Saudi official Prince Abdullah told the Syrian President during talks in Riyadh "Syria must start withdrawing soon, otherwise Syria will face difficulties,". Al-Assad flew to Saudi Arabia for crisis talks with Prince Abdullah as pressure grew on Syria to pull its troops out of Lebanon following last month's assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri in Beirut. Meanwhile the German News Agency said Saudi officials said the Prince told Assad to start withdrawing Syria's 14,000 troops from Lebanon immediately according to the Taif agreement that ended the Lebanese 1975-1990 civil war and includes provisions for Syria to redeploy its 14,000 troops to eastern Lebanon and eventually withdraw them completely. Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal flew back to Riyadh straight from talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh. "President Mubarak and Prince Saud examined the possibility of a compromise between Security Council Resolution 1559 and the Taif Accord in order to solve the Syrian-Lebanese crisis," said Egyptian presidential spokesman Suleiman Awad. The Taif Accord committed Syria to moving its troops to eastern Lebanon within two years and to agreeing with Lebanon on how long any Syrian forces should remain thereafter. Prince Saud Al-Faisal, the Foreign Minister, has categorically denied the existence of a Saudi initiative for the settlement of the Syrian-Lebanese dispute. Prince Saud, who was leading the Saudi delegation to the meetings of the 123rd session of the Arab League's Council, said, in a press statement, that he had no idea about the reports which said that arrangements were underway to hold a tripartite summit, with the participation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Syria. At their meeting in Cairo, Arab Foreign Minister urged Syria to follow through on the Taif Accord even as they negotiated behind the scenes to push Syria to move quickly. Syria has said it would comply with the accord. "We have to contain, with all our capabilities, the existing big problems and to shift the current situation into a safer position," Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa said. "No doubt the Taif agreement has its own role in solving the problem at this stage." Mauritanian Foreign Minister Mohamed Vall Ould Bellal called on Syria to implement the Taif Accord "according to a sensible timetable." International pressure has been piling on Damascus to end its military and political grip on its smaller neighbour since the Feb. 14 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Al- Hariri in a massive bomb blast in Beirut. The opposition in Lebanon blamed Hariri's assassination on Syria and the Syrian-backed government in Beirut. Both governments deny any role. Arab ministers downplayed any lasting effect the turmoil might have. Yemeni Foreign Minister Abu Bakr Al-Kerbi expressed sorrow to Lebanese over Hariri's death and hope that "our brothers in Lebanon will overcome this predicament and unify their ranks." Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal underlined that President Bashar Al-Assad talks in Saudi Arabia "are fruitful and constructive". "President Bashar Al-Assad talks with Saudi Crown Prince Abudullah Ibn Abdul Aziz in Riyadh were fruitful and constructive," Prince Saud said. He told the London-based Al-Hayat newspaper the outcome of these talks was positive and the results will appear soon. Syria denied any differences reported by Reuters news agency over President Assad's talks. Russia, said the troops should go -- a change for a country that abstained when the U.N. Security Council passed a U.S.-inspired resolution to that effect in September. "Syria should withdraw from Lebanon, but we all have to make sure that this withdrawal does not violate the very fragile balance which we still have in Lebanon, which is a very difficult country ethnically," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said. Russia abstained when the Security Council adopted U.S.- and French-sponsored Resolution 1559 in September calling for foreign forces to leave Lebanon and militias to disarm. But Lavrov said the resolution, like any other Council measure, must be implemented. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said: "Syria should withdraw from Lebanon, but we all have to make sure that this withdrawal does not violate the very fragile balance which we still have in Lebanon, which is a very difficult country ethnically." Syria has faced growing calls to end its military and political dominance of its small neighbour since former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri was assassinated last month in a Beirut bombing. Lebanon's opposition blamed Syria and organized mass protests which toppled Beirut's pro-Syrian government this week. Damascus denies any involvement. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said his special envoy on Syria and Lebanon would visit the region in the next few days. "I will be sending back Terje Roed-Larsen to the region to discuss the issue of withdrawal with the two governments," he told reporters. "My hope is that I will be able to report progress when I submit my next report in April." He said everyone was aware of the need to avoid a situation that could destabilize Lebanon or cause tensions. During a visit to Yemen, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said: "Lebanon should be given an opportunity for sovereignty and development and this can only be achieved by complying with Security Council resolutions that stipulate immediate Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon." Egypt and Saudi Arabia are seeking to ease the crisis over international pressure on Syria to withdraw from Lebanon, Egypt's presidential spokesman said. Suleiman Awad said Saudi Arabia and Egypt were "keen to find a way out in order to contain the current crisis". Awad told Reuters Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal had discussed Syria in a meeting in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Thursday. He said it was too soon to talk about a summit involving Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Syria to seek a resolution to the crisis. Awad said Egypt was seeking a way to marry the Taif Accord, which calls for a redeployment and later withdrawal of Syrian forces from Lebanon, with the U.N. resolution. Syria has said the Taif Accord ending Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war would indirectly meet demands set out in U.N. Security Council resolution 1559. Damascus says the U.N. resolution does not find a consensus among Lebanese, while the Taif Accord does. "There must be a way to marry the Taif agreement with the provisions of 1559, keeping in mind the Syrian declaration of February 21, flagging their intention to withdraw from Lebanon," Awad said. Awad said the aim of Egyptian efforts was to help Syria cope with pressure for the implementation of the U.N. demands, while meeting Lebanese aspirations and maintaining unity in Lebanon, where Hariri's killing recalled the civil war. The Taif deal committed Syria to moving its troops to eastern Lebanon within two years and to agreeing with Lebanon on how long any Syrian forces should remain thereafter. Arab foreign ministers meeting in Cairo said they were opting for quiet diplomacy by individual Arab states. Yemeni Foreign Minister Abubakr al-Qirbi, chairman of the meeting, said in a formal summary of the talks: "We are confident the Taif agreement is the basis to solve this crisis and put Syrian-Lebanese relations back on the right path." The Taif agreement ended the Lebanese 1975-1990 civil war and includes provisions for Syria to redeploy its 14,000 troops to eastern Lebanon and eventually withdraw them completely. In Cairo, where the Arab foreign ministers met to prepare for a summit in Algiers on March 22 and 23, Arab officials said they did not see the need for a public statement. "It is not a condition that a statement or a decision come out because there are some things that require calm diplomacy at a particular stage," Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa told a news conference. He said that by implementing Taif, Syria could avert the threat of U.N. sanctions. A U.N. Security Council passed last September demands a Syrian withdrawal and time is running out for compliance. "The Taif agreement is the basis on which we are working. There have been clear statements ... from the Syrian government itself that it is ready to withdraw and redeploy in implementation of the Taif agreement. If that happens, that is also implementation of the U.N. resolution," Moussa said. "That would also be a means for the Security Council not to intervene in this matter," Qirbi said. Arab League chief Amr Moussa said: "We have to contain, with all our capabilities, the existing big problems and to shift the current situation into a safer position." Algerian Foreign Minister Abdel-Aziz Belkhadem said: "We all agreed to demand the implementation of the Taif Accord with respect to international legitimacy." President George W. Bush reiterated calls on Syria to leave. "The United States of America strongly supports democracy around the world, including Lebanon," he said on a visit to the headquarters of the CIA in Langley, Virginia. "And it cannot flourish so long as Syrian troops are there. It's time for Syria to get out." Washington, meanwhile, raised the threat of punishment if Syria failed to pull out, with U.S. officials suggesting possible unspecified sanctions and a tougher U.N. resolution. In an interview published Friday, U.S. President George W. Bush said Syria must pull all of its troops out of Lebanon by May so that it can have free elections. Earlier this week Bush demanded that Syria withdraw but he didn't specify a time frame. "I don't mean just the troops out of Lebanon, I mean all of them out of Lebanon, particularly the secret service out of Lebanon -- the intelligence services," Bush told The New York Post. "This is non-negotiable. It is time to get out," he said. "I don't think you can have fair elections with Syrian troops there." Bush told the paper there was no threat of military action. In Washington David Satterfield, acting assistant secretary of State for Near East Affairs said both the United States and the Lebanese people were sceptical about Syria's pledge to withdraw from Lebanon, and warned any election after a Syrian pullout might lead to gains for the militant Hezbollah movement. The comments by David Satterfield, to a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Foreign Assistance Programs for the Near East, followed two weeks of increased U.S. pressure on Syria to withdraw some 14,000 troops and intelligence personnel from Lebanon in line with U.N. Security Council Resolution 1559. "Neither this government nor the people of Lebanon will believe anything other than what we see with our eyes," he said, adding there had been "conflicting statements" from Syria on the issue. Meanwhile during an interview with Lebanese television, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz said Lebanese people could "rely on the international community to help achieve their independence" and urged them to continue to take "their destiny into their own hands."