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Arab summit opens amid boycott by many members

AFP, Damascus
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad opened a boycott-hit Arab summit yesterday in the absence of half of the region's leaders, many of whom blame Damascus for the political crisis in Lebanon.
In his opening address Assad denied that Syria interfered in Lebanon's domestic affairs.
"I would like to make a point with regards to Syrian interference in Lebanon. It is the contrary which
is true because pressure has been exerted on Syria for over a year to interfere in Lebanon's affairs but we have refused to do so," he said.
Assad made his opening address to the leaders of Algeria, the Comoros, Kuwait, Libya, Mauritania, the Palestinian Authority, Qatar, Sudan, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates.
The Saudi, Egyptian and Jordanian leaders stayed away after Washington urged its allies to think twice before attending the summit
of the 22-member Arab League, accusing Syria of blocking the election of a new president in Lebanon.
The seat earmarked for Lebanon itself was left vacant, but Syria trumpeted the absence of US allies as a triumph over Washington's influence.
"They (the United States) did their best to prevent the summit but they failed," Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem told
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reporters ahead of the two-day gathering. " Their aim is to divide theArab world."
"There will be a very successful summit," he added.
Several Arab officials have expressed frustration at the West's "interference" in Arab affairs.
" There has been US pressure on Arab countries to reduce their participation," Libyan Foreign Minister Abdel Rahman Shalgham told reporters in Damascus on Saturday.
"We as Arabs do not interfere in European summits. It has become a farce and this situation must be remedied by a joint Arab effort," he said.
Egypt sent a junior minister, while powerhouse Saudi Arabia and Jordan were represented by their ambassadors to the Arab League.
"There will be no trace of the United States on the summit's work or agenda," Muallem told his counterparts on Thursday in a preparatory meeting for the summit.
Lebanon has been without a president since the end of November and has been mired in political crisis for more than a year because of feuding between the Western-backed parliamentary majority and the Hezbollah-led opposition, backed by Syria and Iran.
In a televised address on Friday ahead of the summit, Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora said his government had decided to boycott the meeting because of Syrian meddling in his country's affairs.
"Lebanon has had a presidential void for more than four months. Before and during that period Syria played a leading role to exacerbate the crisis... interfering in Lebanon's internal affairs and blocking the election of the consensus candidate to the presidency," hesaid.
The crisis, the worst since the end of Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war, is widely seen as an extension of the conflict pitting the United States and its regional allies against Syria and Iran.
On Thursday, Muallem urged Riyadh to use its influence to help solve the problem.
"Saudi Arabia must use its influence over the majority in
Lebanon to help find a solution," hesaid.
Thesummit isdue to re-endorse an Arab League initiative for Lebanon which calls for the election of army chief General Michel Sleiman as president, forming a national unity government in which no single party has veto power and a new electoral law.
On Thursday. Arab foreign ministers also agreed to re-endorse the 2002 Arab initiative for Middle East peace but expressed their frustration at Israel's refusal to follow up on their plan.