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| Syrian FM
leaves Riyadh after promising 'timetable' for Lebanon pullout RIYADH, Feb 28 (AFP) - Syrian Foreign Minister Faruq al-Shara left Riyadh Monday after a brief visit during which he promised that Damascus would work on setting a timetable for the pullout of its troops from Lebanon, a diplomat said. Shara, who met Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, told him that Syria would "work on setting a timetable for the withdrawal of its forces from Lebanon within the framework of the Taef accord and in coordination with the Lebanese authorities," Syrian ambassador Ahmed Nizameddin told AFP. He was referring to the Saudi-sponsored 1989 accord which ended the 15-year Lebanese civil war a year later. It provided for a pullback of Syrian forces to eastern Lebanon and for the Lebanese and Syrian authorities to agree on the duration of their presence there. Shara ended his visit to Saudi Arabia as the crisis sparked by the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri two weeks ago came to a head in Beirut with the resignation of Hariri's pro-Syrian successor Omar Karameh. Nizameddin said Shara handed Abdullah a message from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad focusing on the situation in Lebanon, the Middle East peace process and Iraq. The diplomat said Shara's visit to Riyadh, which followed talks in Cairo, was part of "Syria's efforts to bring Arab countries closer and ensure the success of next month's Arab summit in Algeria, and of ongoing consultations between Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Syria." An official in Riyadh said Sunday that Saudi leaders would be looking for information about Hariri's killing during Shara's visit. Hariri, who made his fortune in Saudi Arabia and held Saudi citizenship, was killed along with 17 other people in a massive blast in Beirut on February 14 which the Lebanese opposition has blamed on the Lebanese government and its Syrian backers. The situation in Lebanon and international calls for Syria to withdraw its 14,000 troops from the neighboring country dominated Shara's meetings with Egyptian leaders and Arab League officials in Cairo on Sunday. Arab diplomats in Riyadh told AFP on Thursday that Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Algeria were working on securing an "Arab umbrella" for Syrian troops to withdraw from Lebanon. They said contacts on the international front were also under way to defuse the crisis sparked by Hariri's assassination. During its weekly session Monday, the Saudi cabinet urged the Lebanese people to "preserve Lebanon's national unity, stability and cohesion, ensuring that wisdom prevails in facing events," according to the official SPA news agency. The call was made shortly before unprecedented public protests which began after Hariri's assassination brought down the Karameh government. |
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