Syria accuses US of seeking to torpedo Arab summit; Egypt snubs by sending low-level official

Syria on Wednesday accused the United States of trying to torpedo this weekend's Arab summit in Damascus, which has been riven by deep divisions between Arab leaders. Egypt announced it would send only a low-level official to the gathering in a snub to Syria.

The holding of the annual summit in Damascus has worsened the split between Syria and U.S.-allied Arab countries, who have been at odds with Syria over a host of issues for the past three years. Lebanon has announced it is boycotting the summit, and Saudi Arabia is also sending a low-level official rather than King Abdullah.

Saudi Arabia and Egypt are particularly angry at Syria over the politial crisis in Lebanon, where they accuse Damascus of blocking the election of a new president through its Hezbollah allies. The United States and its Arab allies back Lebanon's anti-Syrian government led by Prime Minister Fuad Saniora.

But they also are divided on the Palestinian issue. Syria is a strong backer of the Hamas and Islamic Jihad militant groups, while Saudi Arabia and Egypt back Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and have tried to isolate Hamas since it took over the Gaza Strip in June.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit told the state news agency MENA on Wednesday that Mufid Shihab, minister of state for Legal Affairs and Legislative Councils will lead the Egyptian delegation to the summit, rather than President Hosni Mubarak.

Saudi Arabia announced earlier this week that its Arab League ambassador will represent the kingdom at the gathering, which takes place Saturday and Sunday. The summit is meant to be a meeting between the heads of state of the Arab League's 22 members. Usually when the head of state cannot attend, the foreign minister goes in his place.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem stopped short of criticizing Saudi Arabia and Egypt, telling reporters in Damascus that "it is a sovereign decision ... Syria welcomes any kind of representation."

But he said Saniora's government in Lebanon, by boycotting the gathering, "lost a golden opportunity at the Damascus summit to discuss its crisis ... and Lebanese-Syrian relations." He said the Arab leaders intended to discuss the presidential crisis in the summit's closed-door meetings.

He suggested the United States was behind the Lebanese boycott. "Whoever thinks that the Lebanese decision lies in the Lebanese Cabinet does not know how to read the Lebanese arena," he said.

"The United States has been at a loss as to how to put pressure on this summit," he said. "These are all attempts to torpedo the summit because it is a summit that the U.S. has nothing to do with, neither in its agenda nor in the decisions it will take."

Syria will likely push the summit to take a tough line against Israel. Al-Moallem suggested Wednesday that the leaders would discuss "putting aside" a Saudi-sponsored Arab peace initiative that offers Israel peace with all Arab nations if it returns Arab lands and allows the creation of a Palestinian state with a capital in Jerusalem. Israel has spoken favorably of the initiative but has not accepted it.

"Will we revive the initiative or put it aside and adopt other steps so that Israel would submit and respond to our will for peace _ that's what we will explore at the summit," al-Moallem said.

Abbas, who is attending the summit, said Wednesday he will ask the summit to renew its support for the Arab peace plan and "support our positions in the negotiations with the Israelis."

But the low-level attendance by Egypt and Saudi Arabia is a blow to Syrian attempts to rally Arab states behind it and solidifies the split between the two sides. Jordan has said it will announce in the coming days whether its King Abdullah II, another close U.S. ally will attend.

The pro-U.S. leaders are deeply suspicious of Syria's close alliance with Iran, which they fear is increasing its influence in the region. But the Lebanon dispute has sparked the most overt divide.

Lebanon's presidency has been empty since November, when the term of pro-Syria Emile Lahoud ended. The Lebanese opposition, led by Syria's ally Hezbollah, has been boycotting parliament to prevent the body from chosing a successor.

Washington and Lebanese supporters of Saniora accuse Damascus of trying to reimpose its control in the country, and many in Lebanon believe Damascus is behind a string of bombings over the past three years, including a 2005 suicide attack that killed former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

For the past week, Egyptian papers have railed against the Damascus summit, saying it will be a failure.

"There is no way things would go well ... when the country leading the summit works against the joint Arab interest," the pro-government daily Rose El-Youssef said in an editorial. "Cameras will film an Arab summit that is empty of most of the kings and leaders ... Syrian embarrassment will rise."