Source: Nowlebanon.com, 5-3-2008
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Mouallem said that Syria will send an invitation to Lebanon to attend the Arab Summit on March 29 and 30.
"Lebanon will decide on its representative if a president is not elected by then," he said.
Mouallem said that Saudi Arabia will also be invited and that the summit will be held as scheduled. "The summit will see the highest level of representation ever," he added.
"Isn't the situation in Gaza too dangerous to be ignored by those trying to show a link between the Damascus Summit and the Lebanese presidential elections?" he asked.
He also said that US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's visit to the region is aimed at justifying the American warships stationed off the Lebanese coast.
Mouallem said that Syria understands the no-winner-no-looser principle as partnership and participation between all Lebanese factions.
He explained that a national unity government must respect opposition and majority shares in parliament. "The opposition must have 45% in the coming government and the majority 55%," Mouallem said.
He also said that the Arab initiative is still on and has not yet reached a dead end.
Mouallem said that it is up to the Lebanese themselves to decide whether or not to postpone the debate over the government until after the summit so that a Lebanese president can be elected and attend in Damascus.
"I hope that the Lebanese reach an agreement over the Arab initiative," Mouallem added.