By Xinhua
Beirut : Lebanese cabinet has not decided whether to participate in the upcoming Arab summit in Damascus, and postponed the decision till March 25, the same day scheduled for presidential elections, local As Safir daily reported on Wednesday.
The cabinet on Tuesday held a meeting which lasted six hours and ended at dawn Wednesday. The report quoted a government source as saying that there were different points of view among ministers, some are with participation and some are against, but all minister agreed to meet on March 25 for the final decision.
“March 25 is a decisive and important date,” said the source, adding that the decision regarding Damascus summit and reshuffling of the government will be adopted in light of the outcomes of the presidential election session.
The Arab Summit is scheduled to be held in Syrian capital Damascus on March 28-29. Syria has sent the invitation to the summit to Lebanese Premier Fouad Seniora through opposition Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh, a move that was criticized by several leaders from the ruling coalition as “inappropriate”.
It was not clear whether Seniora would attend the summit, which Saudi Arabia and Egypt have earlier threatened to boycott but now said they will take part, although it is not clear if their heads of state will attend.
Seniora and the Lebanese ruling coalition have been on bad terms with Syria since the latter was accused of involving in the assassination of ex-premier Rafik Hariri on Feb. 2005.
Damascus has denied any role in the assassination, but was forced to withdraw its troops from Lebanon following the killing, ending 29 years of military presence there.
The upcoming 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.
Lebanese presidential seat has been vacant since former President Emile Lahoud ended his term on Nov. 24, and the sharply divided Lebanese parliament has delayed the elections for 16 times without a consensus.