Syrian and Saudi Leaders Meet To Allay Tensions in Lebanon
Terrasanta.net | July 30, 2010
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (right) and King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. (file photo)
(Milan/e.p) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia have been making an unprecedented joint visit to Lebanon today in a bid to try to calm tensions ahead of a tribunal ruling on the assassination of the former Lebanese Prime Minister, Rafik al-Hariri.
Yesterday, the two leaders pledged to work together to help stabilize Lebanon, a country which has had difficult relations with Syria since the 2005 killing of Hariri. U.N. investigators initially implicated Syrian and Lebanese security agencies in the assassination, but Syria denies the accusations.
Today’s meeting is seen as crucial in easing Sunni-Shia tensions as Syria is close to Hezbollah and other Shia factions while Saudi Arabia is regarded as custodian of the Sunnis. Friction between the two Islamic sects has risen sharply recently because of rumours that the Hariri tribunal may soon indict Hezbollah members.
Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah has said he would not accept such a scenario, accusing the UN-backed tribunal of being politicised and part of an "Israeli project".
For its part, Saudi Arabia is keen to unify Arabs in order to put pressure on peace talks with Israel, and prevent another war stemming from rising tension between Israel and Iran, Syria and Hezbollah.
The BBC reports that relations have been steadily improving since the Hariri murder: Saad Hariri has visited Damascus twice as prime minister for talks with President Assad, setting aside his accusations that Syria was behind his father's death. Mr. Assad's visit today carries normalisation a step further.
Prime Minister Hariri said he hoped Friday's visit would lead to "major stability", while Hezbollah's deputy leader described it as "an opportunity to show Arab unity in the face of this plot which aims to destabilise Lebanon and sow sedition".
The Syrian government advised the United States on Thursday against interfering with Abdullah's visit and said the two countries "know better" how to stabilize the Middle East.
Hariri’s assassination, which also claimed 22 other lives, provoked an international furor led by the United States, France and Saudi Arabia that prompted Syria to end its 29-year military presence in Lebanon in April 2005 and led to the establishment of the special tribunal.