A presidential statement said Saturday Khaddam's claim that President Lahoud is involved in corruption "is not only untrue but constituted unlimited insolence from a man who has the least right to accuse others of what he is."

The statement accused Khaddam of being a symbol of corruption when he was in charge of Lebanese-Syrian relations under late Syrian President Hafez Assad.

"Khaddam, who was sunken in bribes, blackmail and corruption, has no right to fabricate lies against the president of the republic," the statement added.

Khaddam, who has been living in Paris for the past six months after breaking away from the Syrian regime, accused pro-Syrian Lahoud of corruption in an interview with the French daily Le Nouvel Observateur.

In a related development, the Qatar-based al-Jazeera news channel reported that France will not renew Khaddam's visa and Saudi Arabia refused to host him.

It said an official French delegate traveled to Saudi Arabia to discuss the possibility of receiving Khaddam, but Riyadh refused, prompting the delegate to head to the United Arab Emirates for the same purpose.

Khaddam, who was in charge of Syrian policy in Lebanon from the 1970's until 2000, declared war on the Syrian regime last month by accusing President Bashar Assad of having ordered the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in a powerful Beirut blast in February.

Under massive Lebanese and international pressure, the Syrian forces withdrew from Lebanon in late April after a 29-year presence in the country. (UPI)