Al- Hariri encourages Sfeir to visit Damascus

The London based "al-Sharq al-Awsat" daily said that the Lebanese prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri has encouraged Maronite Patriarch Nasrullah Sfeir to visit Syria during the visit of Pope John Paul II to Syria.

This was made during their meeting at the headquarters of the Maronite patriarchy in Beirut on Saturday.

The paper said in a report from Beirut that al-Hariri said following the meeting with Sfeir to stress that the latter is still persistent in demanding the redeployment of the Syrian forces in Lebanon, in implementation of the Taif accord and that Sfeir has reiterated his desire to establish excellent relations with Syria.

The paper described al-Hariri's statement following the meeting as similar to a political and economic sermon, in which he stressed solidarity with Syria and that the government cannot be a mediator between the patriarch, or the Mufti or any side in Lebanon and Syria because it represents ( the government) of Lebanon and therefore is not a mediator.