Damascus: Qatar will host the upcoming Arab annual summit next year in Doha instead of Somalia, while Syria, the chair of the summit for the coming 12 months, pledged to patch up the differences amongst Arab states.

Walid Mua'alem, Syrian Foreign Minister, disagreed with dividing Arabs into two camps, one for moderates and one for those who oppose American and Israeli dominance of the Arab world.

He said Arabs might differ on minor issues but when it comes to Arab rights all Arabs oppose giving up their rights and surrendering to political domination.

Mua'alem, who looked very relaxed at the closing press conference, told Arab League Secretary-General Amr Mousa that his services were very much needed in Lebanon and elsewhere in the Arab world.

He said Syria would do its best to "purify" the political atmosphere in the Arab world. Commenting on Prince Saud Al Faisal, Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister in Riyadh, Mua'alem appreciated Al Faisal's assurances that no Arab country was willing to politically isolate Syria, but said he disagreed with him about the responsibility of Syria in the political deadlock in Lebanon.

He said neither Syria nor Saudi Arabia could resolve the problem individually.

"They both have to work closely to encourage the Lebanese to come to a solution," he said.

Saudi Arabia said it will not put pressure on the Lebanese majority to accept the condition of the opposition because the demand is illogical and contradicts basic rules of common sense, said Ambassador Ahmad Abdul Aziz Al Qattan, Saudi representative to the Arab League and head of the kingdom's delegation to the Arab Summit.

The Lebanese opposition wants to have an equal number of ministers in the proposed government, a prerequisite for electing a new president in its Parliament. Syria said that it cannot solve the political standstill in Lebanon without Saudi Arabia putting pressure on their allies, the majority, in Lebanon.

Speaking to Gulf News at the end of the summit, Al Qattan asked: "I wonder what Syria wants us to do? What is the meaning of a majority? Would the minority accept such a demand if they became the majority in the next election? This is illogical and Saudi cannot accept its involvement in such a demand."

He said President Michel Sulaiman is the candidate for the opposition and the Speaker of Parliament is from the opposition, what would remain for the majority if they agreed to equal representation in the government.

Al Qattan said the Lebanese standstill would be resolved once the parities involved in the crisis accept logical solutions. He said Saudi Arabia has done what it can to support Lebanon throughout its crisis and wants it to enjoy its sovereignty. He said that he told the three-hour closed door session at the summit that he was ready to explain the Saudi stand towards Syria and Lebanon but he was not given the chance to do so.

Al Qattan said they failed to resolve the Lebanese issue, but hoped that some agreement would be reached on the basis of the Arab initiative endorsed in Cairo.

UAE stance: 'Event was a success'

The 20th Arab league summit was successful, according to Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Speaking to Syrian television and WAM, Shaikh Abdullah said the UAE had been keen to participate at the highest level in person with President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan attending.

"The UAE and Syria are bound by close fraternal relations," said Shaikh Abdullah, adding the Damascus summit was a model upon which forthcoming ordinary summits should be built.

He commended the remarks of President Bashar Al Assad during the closing session, saying they were frank and positive. Asked on the position adopted by the summit on the Arab-Israeli conflict, Shaikh Abdullah said Arabs have one position on the issue but a lot of hard work needs to be done to achieve the goals.

- WAM