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Dubai: Saudi Arabia said on Monday its King will stay away from the upcoming Arab summit in Damascus, dealing a big blow to Syria's efforts to ensure high-level representation at the first Arab summit held in the country.
The Saudi announcement came shortly after Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Aboul Geit said he feared a poor turnout at the summit if a session of the Lebanese parliament to elect a new president is again postponed.
Lebanon's parliament speaker Nabih Berri indicated on Sunday he would put off for the 17th time a session, this time scheduled for Tuesday, to choose a president due to a political deadlock.
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 Emile Lahoud's term ended in November.
Deepening crisis
"I will head Saudi Arabia's delegation to the summit," Ahmad Bin Abdul Aziz Qattan, Saudi Arabia's permanent representative at the Arab League told reporters after a meeting of Arab League representatives in Damascus yesterday.
The Riyadh decision reflects tension between Damascus and Riyadh that has been mounting for the past couple of years over Syria's alleged role in fuelling Lebanon's deepening political crisis. "We hope that the ice will melt between Syria and Saudi Arabia," said Qattan. "We look forward to an effective Syrian role in achieving a Lebanese national reconciliation."
Egypt has not said if President Hosni Mubarak would attend the summit and media report indicated he may also stay away.
"If we go into the summit and Lebanon is not present in its seat or is present with a very low-level representative, and there is no Lebanese president, I think there are Arab powers that perhaps would not be happy with that," a news agency quoted Geit as saying.
- With inputs from agencies
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