AL chief heads for Damascus to discuss implications of Hariri's assassination

The secretary general of the Arab League (AL) Amr Moussa headed for Damascus on Sunday in a visit during which he will discuss with the Syrian officials the political crisis taking place in Lebanon since the assassination of the former Lebanese prime minister Rafic Hariri last Monday.

Sources at the AL said that Moussa decided to advance the date of his visit, which was due actually on Wednesday, because of the successive escalation of the crisis in Lebanon, noting that he will discuss this matter with the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the foreign minister Farouk al-Shara.

In the same context, Egypt and Austria called not to be hasty in giving premature announcements and to wait the results of investigations in the case of Hariri's assassination to know the side which stands behind it.

The Austrian foreign minister Ursola Blasnik told journalists, after her meeting with the Egyptian foreign minister Ahmad Abu al-Ghait in Cairo, that not being hasty in judging matters is the best way to avoid unrest.

Abu al-Gheit expressed his country's support for Austria's position, stressing the need to work also for the resumption of dialogue between Washington and Damascus despite their differences and that relations not to be limited to Lebanon but also to cover the situation in Iraq.