Faisal, Foreign Minister, on Saturday slammed Syria for obstructing Lebanese peace efforts and called on the Arab League to punish member states that don't honor the group's consensus decisions. “We hope... the (Arab) summit will come up with a solution to the Lebanese crisis in keeping with the Arab League's initiative... especially since the summit is being held in Damascus, from whom we continue to await a positive move on the Lebanese scene to implement the initiative,” he said. A positive Syrian step would “complement the intense efforts exerted by Saudi Arabia and a number of Arab countries” to break the deadlock in Lebanon, Prince Saud said. The foreign minister blamed Syrian policies for Kingdom's boycott of the summit. “The Kingdom has never boycotted a summit before,” he said. He blamed Damascus for not abiding by an Arab consensus over how to solve the lingering presidential crisis in Lebanon. “The problem is that what had been agreed by consensus in the Arab League, including by Syria, wasn't implemented in reality,” he said. Prince Saud said the Arab League was losing its credibility when “a given plan isn't implemented because one or two countries have not taken it into effect. There must be a deterrent action or things will not go well,” he insisted. “I feel there is no desire on the part of the Arab governments to isolate Syria,” he said. “On the contrary Syria is a very important Arab nation in the hearts of every Arab and cannot be isolated,” he added. In another clear allusion to Syrian meddling in the Mideast, he warned Damascus against hindering Palestinian-Israeli peace efforts and further worsening the situation in Iraq. - With input from Agencies __
