By Xinhua
Damascus : Representation of Saudi Arabia in the upcoming Arab summit in Damascus was an affair determined by the sovereign state, Secretary General of the Arab League (AL) Amr Moussa said here on Monday.
Moussa made the remarks to reporters upon arrival in Damascus in response to a question about who would hand the presidency of the summit to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
“Everything will have a solution,” Moussa said.
Earlier in the day, Saudi permanent representative to the Arab League Ahmad Qattan announced that he would attend the upcoming Arab summit on behalf of his country, ruling out the presence of Saudi King Abdullah or Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal.
Moussa added that the Arab summit would discuss important Arab issues, especially in the Palestinian territories and Lebanon, as well as a comprehensive assessment of the peace process in the region.
The AL chief also expressed the hope that Lebanon would not be absent in the Arab summit.
But Lebanese delegates did not attend the preparatory meetings at the level of AL permanent representatives which has started on Monday.
This was because Lebanon wants its political crisis to be discussed at the ministerial level, President of the preparatory meeting Yousef al-Ahmad said.
Moussa said he would attend preparatory meetings of the representatives on Tuesday to discuss a final statement that would be submitted to the meetings of Arab foreign ministers due on Thursday.
Saudi’s announcement to send a low-level delegation to the summit reflects the strained ties between Damascus and Riyadh over the political crisis in neighboring Lebanon, where the presidential seat has been vacant since last November when former President Emile Lahoud stepped down.
A long-awaited parliamentary session to elect a new Lebanese president to succeed Lahoud has been postponed for 17 times till April 22.
Saudi Arabia and Syria support different parties in Lebanon, with Riyadh, along with its Western allies, backing the majority led by Saad Hariri in the Lebanese parliament while Damascus and its ally Tehran supporting the opposition led by the Shiite Hezbollah movement.
Saudi Arabia, together with Egypt, is blaming Syria for blocking the presidential election in Lebanon.