By Xinhua
Beirut : A Syrian official delegation is expected to be here on Thursday to deliver an invitation from Damascus to Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Seniora to attend the upcoming Arab Summit, local daily As-Safir reported.
The invitation to the Damascus Arab Summit scheduled on March 29-30 has been awaited for some time, said the report.
Syrian Ambassador to Cairo Youssef al-Ahmed has said that his country would send a delegation to officially invite Prime Minister Seniora because “Lebanon is not an exception” from other Arab countries, local An Nahar daily reported.
Seniora and Lebanese ruling coalition have been on bad terms with Syria since the latter was accused of involving the assassination of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri on Feb. 2005.
Damascus has denied its role in the killing of Hariri, but forced to withdraw its forces from Lebanon following the assassination, ending decades-long military presence there.
This year’s Arab summit scheduled in Damascus raised tension between the two nations as Syria is accused of obstructing the presidential elections in Lebanon through its opposition allies.
West-backed Seniora’s ruling coalition and Lebanese opposition have reached in an impasse over the election of a new president to succeed former President Emile Lahoud who stepped down on Nov. 24,2007.
A long-awaited parliamentary session to elect a new president has been postponed for the 16th time from March 11 to March 25, spawning the most serious political crisis since the end of the 1975-1990 civil war.
Some Arab countries threatened to boycott the upcoming Arab summit in Damascus in late March if Syria does not facilitate the election of Army commander Gen. Michel Suleiman as president.