Syrian, Saudi leaders fly together to Lebanon ahead of possible indictments in assassination

Syria, Saudi leaders travel together to Lebanon

BEIRUT — The leaders of Syria and Saudi Arabia, once bitter rivals, made an unprecedented show of cooperation Friday, traveling together to Lebanon in hopes of preventing any violence if members of a militant group are indicted in the 2005 assassination of a former Lebanese prime minister.

The unusual joint visit by Syrian President Bashar Assad and Saudi King Abdullah underscored the depth of Arab concern over potential chaos in Lebanon. Many people fear indictments of Hezbollah members could spark clashes between Lebanon’s Sunnis and Shiites, or that Hezbollah’s nemesis Israel could be pulled into a conflict, causing wider turmoil.

The summit also consecrated both countries’ roles as power brokers in the region, where Syria is an ally of Iran and Saudi Arabia generally supports the U.S.

Washington has long tried to uproot Syrian influence in Lebanon, but Damascus and Riyadh seem to have a fragile understanding, suggesting both see a greater interest in keeping Lebanon quiet after years of feuding over it.

“This is significant for two leaders who were fighting it out in Beirut just a few years ago,” said Paul Salem, director of the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut. “This indicates that they think this crisis is so big that they have to come themselves.”

The king and Assad walked side-by-side down the staircase from a Saudi jet at Beirut’s airport and entered talks with Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, President Michel Suleiman and other officials. The leader of Hezbollah, who rarely appears in public, did not take part, but Hezbollah Cabinet ministers were on hand.

It was Assad’s first visit to Lebanon in eight years. The highway from Beirut’s airport into the city was lined with Syrian and Saudi flags, as well as banners with Assad’s picture that proclaimed “Welcome among your family” Those words were a stark contrast to the bitterness many Lebanese vented at Syria when it was forced to withdraw its military in 2005, ending a nearly three-decade hold on Lebanon.

Few details about the discussions emerged. Afterward, Assad gave reporters a thumbs-up and said “it was an excellent summit” as he left Lebanon’s presidential palace.

The crisis centers around the international tribunal investigating the assassination of Hariri’s father, former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, in a Valentine’s Day truck bombing in 2005. Indictments are expected this year.

The Netherlands-based tribunal has not said who will be charged, but the leader of Hezbollah said last week he already knows that Hezbollah members will be among them. That could spark riots between the Sunni supporters of Hariri and Shiites who largely back Hezbollah.

The two sides have clashed before in their power struggle. In May 2008, Hezbollah gunmen swept through Sunni pro-government neighborhoods of Beirut, raising the threat of a new civil war. The crisis was resolved only after Arab countries mediated a truce and political compromise between the two sides that has tenuously held since.

After Friday’s meeting, Lebanon, Syria and Saudi Arabia issued a joint statement that urged all parties to put Lebanon’s interests above all else and refrain from violence.

“Solidarity is a necessity, and standing side-by-side to confront challenges facing the Arab world,” they said.

Many in Lebanon blame Syria for Rafik Hariri’s death, charges that Damascus denies. The killing sparked massive anti-Syrian protests in Lebanon, dubbed the “Cedar Revolution,” which led to the Syrian withdrawal.

The assassination also deepened a rift between Syria and Saudi Arabia, which each backed rival sides in the ensuing power struggle that nearly tore Lebanon apart: Syria backing a Hezbollah-led coalition, and Saudi Arabia and the United States supporting Saad Hariri’s Sunni-led coalition.

In recent years, however, Assad and Abdullah have repaired ties, and the joint visit was a sign of how much the rift has healed.

In Washington, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said the U.S. hoped Friday’s meeting would produce “a recommitment to Lebanese sovereignty” and “an understanding to try to restrain those elements within Lebanon who have precipitated conflict in the past.”

Assad rarely goes to Beirut. His last visit in 2002 was the first by a Syrian leader to the Lebanese capital in nearly three decades. Abdullah also was last in Lebanon in 2002, when he was crown prince.

Hezbollah spokesman Ibrahim Moussawi told The Associated Press the group welcomed Friday’s summit.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s July 22 announcement that he expected members of his movement to be indicted appeared to be an attempt to soften the impact of any charges. Nasrallah said his group will not turn over any of its members for trial. He said the tribunal has no credibility and is simply an “Israeli plot.”

Another factor behind the concerns in Lebanon is that any turmoil within this country could expand into conflict with Israel, which fought a monthlong war with Hezbollah in the summer of 2006.

Some in Israel fear Hezbollah could lash out at them if its members are indicted. Some Lebanese worry the indictment could give Israel fodder to justify a new assault on the heavily armed guerrilla force.

The Saudi and Syrian pressure on their Lebanese allies does not guarantee an indictment against Hezbollah will go quietly, warned Fadia Kiwan, a political science professor at Beirut’s St. Joseph University.

“This could ignite the streets,” she said. “Politicians are now using a quiet language and trying to calm down the situation, but the problems are in the streets.”

Associated Press writers Bassem Mroue and Zeina Karam contributed to this report.