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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Boycott clouds Syrian Arab summit | Boycott clouds Syrian Arab summit |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| The Arab League's annual summit has opened in the Syrian capital Damascus but key leaders are staying away amid signs of a growing regional rift. | |
| Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan are among those sending only low-level delegations to the two-day gathering. | Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan are among those sending only low-level delegations to the two-day gathering. |
| They blame Syria for the ongoing political crisis in Lebanon, whose government is staying away completely. | They blame Syria for the ongoing political crisis in Lebanon, whose government is staying away completely. |
| Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moualem accused the US of trying to divide Arabs by urging allies to stay away. | Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moualem accused the US of trying to divide Arabs by urging allies to stay away. |
| Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora denounced Syria for preventing the election of a consensus president in Beirut. | Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora denounced Syria for preventing the election of a consensus president in Beirut. |
| But he also called on Arab leaders to help mend relations between Syria and Lebanon, saying Beirut sought "healthy, brotherly relations" with Damascus. | But he also called on Arab leaders to help mend relations between Syria and Lebanon, saying Beirut sought "healthy, brotherly relations" with Damascus. |
| Opening the summit, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said his country was willing to join "Arab or non-Arab efforts" to end Lebanon's political "on condition that they are based on Lebanese national consensus". | |
| Infighting | Infighting |
| It is a shaky start for the meeting, BBC Middle East correspondent Katya Adler reports from Damascus. | |
| There are now two axes - Iran, Syria, Hamas and Hezbollah are on one side and the rest are on the another Wahid Abdel-Meguid Cairo-based Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies No comfort for Lebanon | There are now two axes - Iran, Syria, Hamas and Hezbollah are on one side and the rest are on the another Wahid Abdel-Meguid Cairo-based Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies No comfort for Lebanon |
| Syria billed it as a golden opportunity for regional unity but there is little sign of this. | Syria billed it as a golden opportunity for regional unity but there is little sign of this. |
| The leaders of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Lebanon are all staying at home because they view host country Syria as a trouble-maker, too close to Iran and a destructive force in divided Lebanon, our correspondent says. | The leaders of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Lebanon are all staying at home because they view host country Syria as a trouble-maker, too close to Iran and a destructive force in divided Lebanon, our correspondent says. |
| Syria has accused them in the past of being subservient to the US. | Syria has accused them in the past of being subservient to the US. |
| "They [the US] did their best to prevent the summit but they failed," Mr Moualem told reporters on the eve of the summit. | "They [the US] did their best to prevent the summit but they failed," Mr Moualem told reporters on the eve of the summit. |
| "Their aim is to divide the Arab world." | "Their aim is to divide the Arab world." |
| He promised that there would be "no trace of the United States on the summit's work or agenda". | He promised that there would be "no trace of the United States on the summit's work or agenda". |
| 'Two axes' | 'Two axes' |
| Wahid Abdel-Meguid, of the Cairo-based Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, believes the division within the region is now clear. | Wahid Abdel-Meguid, of the Cairo-based Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, believes the division within the region is now clear. |
| Libya's Muammar Gaddafi (left) is one of those who is attending | |
| "There are now two axes - Iran, Syria, Hamas and Hezbollah are on one side and the rest are on the another," he was quoted as saying by The Associated Press. | "There are now two axes - Iran, Syria, Hamas and Hezbollah are on one side and the rest are on the another," he was quoted as saying by The Associated Press. |
| "The Syrian axis is coherent and they have a clear objective and they are working in an organised way." | "The Syrian axis is coherent and they have a clear objective and they are working in an organised way." |
| Our correspondent notes that people across the Arab world say they are sick of this infighting. | Our correspondent notes that people across the Arab world say they are sick of this infighting. |
| There is no shortage of crises in their region but Arab states disagree over who is to blame and what is to be done and it seems unlikely they will resolve those differences this weekend, she says. | There is no shortage of crises in their region but Arab states disagree over who is to blame and what is to be done and it seems unlikely they will resolve those differences this weekend, she says. |