Hariri to Visit NY to Meet King Abdullah Again, Says Saudi-Syrian Initiative Finalized

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri for the first time revealed that the Saudi-Syrian initiative had been finalized a long time ago, and awaits implementation. He announced that the talks had been finalized a few months ago.

In an interview with the pan-Arab daily Al Hayat published Friday, Hariri noted that he will be visiting New York again to meet with the Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdel Aziz, where they "will discuss boosting the Syrian-Saudi initiative and protect this path which constitutes the guarantee to Lebanon's stability.

Hariri clarified also that the "Syrian-Saudi initiative needs several positive steps from others, still none has presented any steps, noting that the agreement has been finalized before the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, (Saudi) King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, traveled to New York for treatment."

However, Hariri added that "steps and answers are required from others, not from us, and anything else is an attempt to sabotage the Saudi-Syrian efforts."

he added "Any commitment on my part will not be put into practice before the other camp implements what it has pledged, this is the essential rule" in the Saudi-Syrian talks."

He stressed that the Syrian-Saudi track will not backpedal "in the face of the major campaign of distortion" it is being subjected to, noting that talk about the formation of a new ministerial council as part of a so-called "settlement" was "totally out of the question" in the ongoing Saudi-Syrian efforts.

He explained that the Syrian-Saudi agreement discusses several issues to fixate stability in Lebanon, as the agreement is the fruit of a summit that was launched in Beirut between King Abdullah, Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, and Lebanese President Michel Suleiman.

On another note, Hariri assured that there is no room for strife in Lebanon saying "During the past five years, a lot of issues took place on which the Lebanese were divided, but we stood up against strife.

Hariri ended by saying "National mutual living does not mean dividing sectarian and religious portions, it rather means sharing responsibility in building one country, and take care of its administration and its people's affairs.