Assad to Abdullah: Hariri Has to Reject International Tribunal Which Aims to Destroy Resistance
Syrian President Bashar Assad and Saudi King Abdullah, who met in Riyadh Sunday, did not reach an agreement on the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, local media reported Tuesday.
Al-Akhbar newspaper, citing Syrian sources, said Riyadh also avoided discussing the arrest warrants issued by Syria against a number of Lebanese officials or pressure on Prime Minister Saad Hariri to modify his position on the STL indictment.
It said the Saudi-Syrian summit came upon Abdullah's request who tried again to mediate with Assad to meet Hariri. But the answer was 'No," Al-Akhbar said.
The sources said Assad spoke frankly, telling Abdullah that Syria was "dissatisfied with the fact that Hariri remains tense during his stay in Damascus."
They said the reaction that came from Hariri and Hariri-funded groups regarding the arrest warrants proved that the Lebanese premier "is unable to get rid of his grudges, which explains Syria's unwillingness to revive contacts with the Grand Serail."
Analysts said the key issue for Assad and Abdullah was current Hariri's dispute with Hizbullah over the U.N.-backed tribunal on his father's murder.
Members of Hizbullah are reportedly implicated in the investigation, and could be indicted, according to reports.
Reports that the tribunal would indict Hizbullah members for Hariri's murder have raised regional fears of renewed Sunni-Shiite sectarian violence and the collapse of Lebanon's hard-won national unity government.
While Hariri has offered to play down any indictment linked to Hizbullah and focus only on the individuals involved, Hizbullah has demanded the international tribunal be discredited.
Al-Akhbar quoted the Syrian sources as assuring that a freeze on contact between Damascus and Beirut does not mean the doors were closed.
The sources said Hariri could learn from Druze leader Walid Jumblat "who is able to weigh every leader, read regional and global equations very well and knows that in politics some issues are discussed beyond repeating the word 'truth'.»
They said Assad complained to Abdullah that Hariri did not keep his commitments.
Hariri has to do the following, according to the sources:
- Commit to the rules of the game and recognize that no one, including Hariri, can cross the red lines. Syria believes that Hizbullah is the red line, and Hariri has to respect that.
- Hariri can negotiate amending agreements with Syria or demand a parliament seat here or there, but it is forbidden for him to ever think of asking Syria to deceive Hizbullah.
- If Hariri realized this, he should announce that the Tribunal, which is aimed to destroy the Resistance (Hizbullah), be discredited.
- Hariri should take positive steps toward Syria through changing his political, security and media advisors.
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