Saudi-Syrian Initiative Places Priority on Lebanese Consensus

The Saudi-Syrian initiative to end the Lebanese political crisis has placed priority on Lebanese consensus on foreign efforts to end the internal disputes because any external solution is bound to be met with challenges.

These efforts coincided met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's statements in Paris that called for the Lebanese to reach an agreement among themselves before receiving the Saudi-Syrian assistance.

In addition, sources monitoring Riyadh and Damascus' efforts noted that Saudi King Abdullah's absence from the scene has not obstructed the initiative.

Meanwhile, the daily An Nahar reported on Sunday that the recent meeting of the Saudi, Syrian, Iranian, and Egyptian ambassadors to Lebanon at the Saudi Ambassador's residence had a consultative and social purpose.

The Egyptian Ambassador, Ahmed Bedewi, was invited by his Saudi counterpart, Ali Awadh Assiri, in order to widen the circle of Arab interest in Lebanon.

The Egyptian official denied to al-Mustaqbal that the meeting tackled the situation in Lebanon.

He explained that he had received a "generous" invitation by Assiri to attend a dinner, which he accepted.

"We discussed Lebanon in general terms, but we did not discuss the crisis," Bedewi said.