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Cairo: Another delayed Lebanese vote on a new president could spark poor turnout at an Arab summit in Syria, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said on Monday.
The news comes as reports claim Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has said he would not participate in the summit.
Lebanese parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri indicated on Sunday he would postpone for the 17th time a parliamentary session for Tuesday.
A delay would mean that there would be no Lebanese president to attend the March 29-30 Arab summit. Lebanon has been without a president since November.
"I think that there would be weak participation, and I fear that the Lebanese issue would negatively reflect on the successes of the summit," Aboul Gheit said.
Aboul Gheit warned that if the crisis over a new president is not resolved then Lebanon may "be put in a thorny position that could last for an indeterminate period."
Mubarak is expected to make the official announcement about boycotting the summit on March 26, one day after the scheduled elections in Lebanon.
There is also speculation that Saudi Arabian King Abdullah and Jordanian King Abdullah will both miss the summit, as could leaders of other Gulf countries, including Kuwait and Bahrain.
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