Official: Saudi King not to attend Arab summit

DAMASCUS, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Saudi permanent representative to the Arab League (AL) Ahmad Qattan said here on Monday that he would attend the upcoming Arab summit on behalf of his country, ruling out the presence of Saudi King Abdullah or Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal.

Qattan, who has been here for a preparatory meeting, said on the sidelines of the meeting that "I will head Saudi Arabia's delegation to the summit."

Such an announcement reflects the strained ties between Damascus and Riyadh over the political crisis in neighboring Lebanon, where the presidential seat has been vacant since last November when former President Emile Lahoud stepped down.A long-awaited parliamentary session to elect a new president to succeed Lahoud has been postponed for 16 times till March 25.Saudi Arabia and Syria support different parties in Lebanon,with Riyadh, along with its Western allies, backing the majorityled by Saad Hariri in the Lebanese parliament while Damascus and its ally Tehran supporting the opposition led by the ShiiteHezbollah movement.

Saudi Arabia, together with Egypt, are blaming Syria for blocking the presidential election in Lebanon. On Sunday, Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri hinted that the parliament session scheduled for March 25 might be postponed for another time.

"There is nothing new to avoid a new postponement of the session on Tuesday, but we will exert every effort between now and Tuesday," Berri said.

Another delay would mean that there would be no Lebanese president to attend the March 29-30 Arab summit.