By Hadi Khatib
Lebanonwire Staff

Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa announced following the conclusion of the Arab Foreign Ministers meeting in Khartoum Sunday that Lebanese-Syrian relations and a number of other issues related to the ongoing national dialogue in Beirut will be discussed on the sidelines of the summit Tuesday immediately following the opening ceremony.

Al-Mustaqbal daily quoted Moussa as saying that such talks will be held “away from the ears and eyes of onlookers and will not be recorded” in an indication that Arab leaders feel the urgency of discussing Lebanon in a candid way with the aim of resolving outstanding issues related to items of the national dialogue.

If it’s any indication of what lays ahead in this upcoming conclave, the concluding statement of Arab Foreign Ministers yesterday included a pledge to support any effort aimed at liberating the Shebaa Farms including demarcating the borders with Syria to include them within Lebanese territories and uncovering the culprits responsible for the murder of former premier Rafiq Hariri.

“The Lebanese-Syrian relations and the beginning of diplomatic ties between the two countries will be part of a number of points that will be put on the able,” Moussa is quoted as saying.

The Foreign Ministers condemned in their final statement the continuing occupation of Lebanese territories by Israel “who keeps arresting Lebanese and imprisoning them in Israeli jails while refusing to hand over maps to the UN showing and detailing the location of mines it left behind following the 2000 withdrawal from Lebanon.”

The statement also condemned Israel’s continuing violation of Lebanon’s air, land and sea space and added “the resistance in Lebanon is a reflection of that country’s right to protect and defend itself and its dignity in the face of Israeli aggression and territorial greed.”

This latest statement seemed to echo Hezbollah’s claims that solving the Shebaa Farms issue will not necessitate the removal of the party’s weapons since Israel is a constant threat that violates at will Lebanon’s sovereign land and space, claiming that this could only be met with ‘guerilla–style’ warfare under an overall strategic plan to defend Lebanon.

Al-Balad daily said that sources close to Emile Lahoud indicated that the president will reiterate at the summit the main agreements reached at the national dialogue.

The roundtable talks in Beirut have so far agreed on the need to establish diplomatic ties with Syria, remove Palestinian weapons outside the refugee camps and on the Lebanese identity of the Shebaa Farms, with the latter issue requiring a candid discussion with Syrian officials in order to demarcate the common borders and officially include the farms within Lebanese territories.

The daily said Prime Minister Fouad Siniora will today announce his decision of whether to participate in the Summit talks or not, but added that sources close to the premier had said Siniora is “neither excited nor eager to attend.”

Lahoud’s participation in the summit has been the subject of a heated debate in Cabinet last Thursday with several ministers from the March 14th alliance questioning the legitimacy of Lahoud in representing Lebanon at the Khartoum talks.

Several dailies had also indicated last week that Siniora is reluctant to attend since he does not feel comfortable being in the shadow of Lahoud at the Summit, knowing that the premier had repeatedly indicated he was of the opinion that Lahoud should resign.

Daily Ad-Diyar wrote on Monday that Lahoud is set to meet with a number of Arab leaders at the Summit, including Syrian President Bashar Assad.

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