It's Final. Syria Wants Lahoud to Stay on for 3 or 4 More Years

Naharnet

Beirut, Updated 26 Aug 04, 22:20

Syria has made it final. It wants Lahoud to stay on as president of Lebanon for 3 or 4 extra years and wants parliament in Beirut to take the necessary constitutional moves to bring the extension about. This is the gist of President Assad's talks in Damascus Thursday with Premier Hariri and Speaker Berri, which brought Syria's consultations on Lebanon's presidential election to an unpopular end, the Beirut media reported Friday. Berri is reported to have immediately fallen in line. But Hariri, who has no love lost for Lahoud, told Assad he would give his answer to Syria's requests in 48 hours and media reports said he might promptly resign. Berri returned from Damascus to his Mosseileh countryside residence in south Lebanon while Hariri returned to his summer residence in Faqra. He stopped in Anjar for a meeting with Syria's military intelligence chief in Lebanon Brig. Gen. Rustom Ghazaleh and then in Beirut to brief ally Walid Jumblat on Syria's position. Jumblat, whose appointment with Assad was cancelled in an apparent snub because the Druze leader said he would "'argue' everything on the table," declined to speak to the press after the briefing. However, close aides said Jumblat was unflinchingly sticking to his opposition to a Lahoud extension, and has scheduled a meeting of his 16-man bloc in parliament for Monday to make a final decision on the presidential event. Hariri also refused to give any comment to the press. His aides said he would not make any statement before he delivers his answer to President Assad, which is expected on Sunday. Aides also said Hariri would be in Beirut Friday for a meeting with Germany's visiting Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer. Media reports said Germany was joining the U.S. and France in calling for electing a new president in Lebanon in line with the country's constitution. The United States and France had both reiterated this common stance in separate statements in Washington and Paris on Thursday just as Assad was telling Berri and Hariri that Lahoud should be given 3-to-4 additional years in power. Visitors of Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir at his Diman summer residence said he was getting increasingly worried over Syria's support for a Lahoud extension and may make additional declarations to escalate his opposition to any meddling with Lebanon's constitution, An Nahar said.