By Xinhua
Damascus : Lebanon has demanded that its political crisis be discussed at the level of ministers prior to Arab summit, a Syrian official said here on Monday.
Yousef al-Ahmad, President of the preparatory meeting for the Arab summit at the level of permanent representatives to the Arab League (AL) and high-ranking officials, made the remarks in the absence of Lebanese delegates to the meeting, according to the official SANA news agency.
Lebanon has sent a letter to the AL demanding that the Lebanese issue not be discussed at the level of AL permanent representatives but instead at the level of ministers, Ahmad said.
Ahmad added that AL permanent representatives have concluded the first closed session on the Arab summit draft agenda, which includes issues of political, economic and social Arab joint work, mainly the developments regarding the Palestinian issue, the occupied Syrian Golan, the situation in Iraq and refusing unilateral U.S. sanctions on Syria.
They would continue to discuss the Arab peace initiative and the Palestinian cause in an evening session, with two issues to be discussed on Tuesday regarding youth and the Arab language, he continued.
In addition, high-ranking economic officials also concluded discussions on the draft economic agenda, except for the article on establishing an Arab satellite surveillance system, which will be discussed in an upcoming economic council session in Cairo in September, the report said.
Among the most prominent projects endorsed were establishing an Arab railway network, opening Arab skies to Arab airlines and establishing an electricity network.
The officials are due to continue discussions in an evening session on preparations for the Economic Summit in Kuwait slated for 2009.
The 20th Arab summit is scheduled to be held here in Damascus on March 29-30.