A senior Libyan foreign ministry official, Hassuna al-Shaush, told AFP that Libya’s leader Muammar Kadhafi would send a representative to the Arab summit in Beirut next March, but would not take part himself.
Earlier on Wednesday, Arab league secretary general Amr Moussa announced in Cairo that Libya agreed to attend the next Arab summit. Moussa was speaking to reporters after returning to Cairo from Libya where he conferred with Kadhafi during a brief visit. On the participation of Kadhafi in the summit in Beirut, Moussa called for giving time for "calm consultations" and diplomacy. Lebanon's government said Kadhafi is welcomed to take part in the summit, adding it was keen on the presence of all Arab leaders.
Moussa's talks with the Libyan ruler came after a tour that took him to Syria, Lebanon and Jordan as part of efforts to overcome differences over the venue of the summit.
Libya had filed an official request to hold the summit in Cairo instead of Beirut, as scheduled, in response to statements by Lebanese Shiite leaders, who demanded Libyan clarifications over the disappearance of the their charismatic leader Moussa al-Sadr during a visit to Libya in 1978.
Moussa stressed Monday that conditions are improving to ensure holding the summit in Beirut by the end of March. Moussa told reporters in Cairo after returning form his tour that the consultations he held were aimed at discussing arrangements to hold the summit on time. Moussa said that the Arab leaders stress the importance of maintaining the mechanism of regular holding of Arab summits.
Arab leaders last year decided to hold a regular summit on a yearly basis. According to the alphabetical order, the summit was to be in Abu Dhabi, which conceded that to Beirut. (Albawaba.com)
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