Arab summit opens: Assad says no Israeli partner, rejects arrest warrant against Sudan leader

Arab countries which launched a Middle East peace initiative in 2002 do not have a real partner in Israel, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad stated on Monday at the opening of the Arab summit. "Israel killed the initiative, not the Doha summit," he said. "We Arabs, since we offered the Arab initiative, do not have a real partner in the peace process," he said, as Israel's right-wing Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu prepared to present his government later today.

"This (incoming Israeli) government represents the views of those who voted it in... It shows that this (Israeli) society is not ready for peace," he said, according to AFP.

The Syrian leader also urged Arab leaders to reject an international arrest warrant issued against Sudan's leader over the Darfur conflict.