Beirut–Lebanon’s press on Saturday appeared unimpressed by the outcome of a historic Syria-Saudi-Lebanon summit, saying it failed to address key issues linked to rising tensions in the country.
“The core problem in Lebanon of how an Iranian-Syrian-allied armed Hizbullah can coexist with the Lebanese state remains unresolved and will rear its head again soon,” wrote journalist Rami Khouri in The Daily Star, Lebanon’s only English-language newspaper.
“The Syrian-Saudi visit to keep things quiet in Lebanon is an upgraded version of the… diplomatic move in May 2008 to contain and end the brief street fighting that … threatened to rip the country apart along Sunni-Shiite lines,” Khouri wrote.
He was referring to a week of deadly violence that erupted that month when the government announced — and then repealed — a crackdown on Shiite militant Hizbullah.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Saudi King Abdullah arrived in Lebanon Friday for an hours-long visit, their first since 2002.
The visit was widely seen as a desperate bid to ease tensions over reports of an impending indictment by a UN tribunal against members of Hezbollah for the 2005 assassination of ex-premier Rafiq Hariri, father of current Prime Minister Saad Hariri.
“Assad to Abdullah in Damascus: end the tribunal as it has ruined Lebanon,” read analyst Nicolas Nassif’s headline in the Arabic daily Al-Akhbar, which is close to Hezbollah.
“It may be too soon to predict the immediate outcome of the tripartite summit in Beirut yesterday… but (one outcome) of the summit was Syria’s and Saudi’s confirmation that they represent the major overseers of Lebanon’s stability,” Nassif wrote.
Saudi Arabia, which was close to the slain premier, holds sway with Lebanon’s ruling alliance led by his son Saad, while Syria and Iran support a rival camp led by Hizbullah.
“Delaying the indictment, as step toward aborting it altogether, is being offered as a condition and barter for the protection of Saad Hariri and his allies,” wrote Rosana Bou Monsef in the daily al-Nahar, which is close to the Hariri camp.
“The international community will not accept this barter but will seek a different deal, and not necessarily with Hizbullah itself,” Bou Monsef wrote.
Assad’s visit to Lebanon is particularly controversial as his country was widely accused of the bombing that killed Hariri and 22 others on 14 February 2005 in Beirut.
Damascus has consistently denied the accusations but was forced to pull its troops from Lebanon in the wake of the murder after a 29-year presence.
Hizbullah chief Hassan Nasrallah this month revealed the UN tribunal probing Hariri’s killing was poised to indict members of his party.
But he made it clear he would not accept such a scenario and his deputy, Naim Qassem, on Friday said the party had the right to defend itself through all available means.
