Foreign ministers or representatives of the 22 member states of the Arab
League (AL) began an extraordinary meeting here on Sunday afternoon to discuss
an Arab response to a post-war Lebanon and the volatile Mideast situation.
Fifteen Arab foreign ministers and seven high-ranking representatives from
the member states attended the meeting, according to the AL.
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem didn't attend the meeting.
Addressing the opening session, Lebanese Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh said
that the Lebanese government approved the UN Security Council Resolution 1701
despite its defective aspects. Salloukh said the top priority for Lebanon was to
guarantee Israel's full withdrawal to the UN Blue Line and the lift of air and
sea blockage imposed by Israel.
It was also important to liberate the Shabaa Farms and release the Lebanese
detained by Israel, said Salloukh, who also called for Arab and international
support to rebuild the war-torn country. Following Salloukh, Yemeni Foreign
Minister Abu-Bakr al-Kurbi warned against any interpretation of the UN
resolution that could harm Lebanon or lead to fomenting sedition among the
Lebanese. Al-Kurbi called on Arab countries and the Cairo-based AL to setup a
mechanism for reconstructing Lebanon.
Al-Kurbi, whose country was the first to call for an emergency Arab summit
shortly after the eruption of the Hezbollah-Israel conflict on July 12, said
that such a summit should be held as soon as possible.
Earlier before the meeting, al-Kurbi said that Arab foreign ministers would
also discuss a call for holding an international conference to settle problems
in the Middle East and the idea of referring the entire file of the Arab-Israeli
conflict to the UN Security Council.
Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammad al-Sabah
al-Salem al-Sabah also urged Arab countries to contribute to the reconstruction
of Lebanon.
Sheikh Mohammad said that Kuwait would offer 800 million U.S. dollars of aid
to shore up the Lebanese economy and help rebuild Lebanon.
The Arab foreign ministerial meeting came one week after a ceasefire between
Israel and Hezbollah came into effect on Aug. 14under Resolution 1701.
The truce ended the 34-day-long Israel-Hezbollah conflict which broke out
following the capture of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah during cross-border
raids on July 12.
The meeting was the third of its kind since the violence erupted in Lebanon.
The first meeting took place in Cairo on July 15, while the second was held
in the Lebanese capital Beirut on Aug. 7.
