Zapatero in Beirut Bush set for Mideast Tour

Zapatero in Beirut Bush set for Mideast Tour

On the eve of the Arab Foreign Ministers meeting in Cairo, political stalemate in Lebanon persists unabated. The war of words between the loyalty and the opposition has been heating up ever since US President George W. Bush announced his planned visit to the Middle East next week. France has failed to promote an agreement with Syria over a consensual and comprehensive solution in Lebanon prompting Damascus to break off contacts with Paris over the political crisis. "It seems that the French endeavor to persuade MP Saad Hariri (February 14 bloc) to accept this solution lost ground," Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem said last Wednesday. What's next?
On Saturday, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Louis Zapatero arrived in Beirut on a surprise visit to meet Lebanese officials and check on the Spanish contingent working with the UNIFIL in south Lebanon. Zapatero held talks with the head of the unconstitutional government Fouad Saniora. Madrid has been engaged in international efforts to find a solution to the crisis in Lebanon, crowned by visits by Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos to Beirut and Damascus in recent months.
Bush held Syria responsible for the "impasse" that has prevented Lebanon from electing a new president, saying there should be a "clear message to the Syrians from all of us that you will continue to be isolated." In an interview with international media, Bush said that on his trip next week to the Middle East he would seek to remind other leaders "how important it is for Lebanon to succeed and how important it is for all of us to work to free that government from foreign interference." "I am disappointed that the presidency has not been selected, and believe very much that Syrian influence is preventing the selection," Bush said. In his interview last Wednesday, Moallem said that many countries including some Arab states have more influence on the February 14 bloc than Syria has on the opposition. "Why don't they use their influence to push toward a win-win formula in Lebanon?" Muallem wondered. Bush reiterated his position regarding the half-plus-one formula to elect a president for Lebanon. "My position has been that the March 14th Coalition, if it had mustered a majority plus one, 50 percent plus one, should be allowed to go forward with the selection of the president," he said. Bush did not forget to praise the head of the unconstitutional government Fouad Saniora saying he has been "very impressed" by Saniora "as a man who's committed to the well-being of all the Lebanese people."
Bush is scheduled to depart Tuesday for a visit to occupied Palestine and the Palestinian territories in an attempt to boost Middle East talks re-launched at an international conference in Annapolis in November. He is not scheduled to visit Lebanon on the trip.