Crown prince Abdullah: Lebanon is loved by all, no difference between it and Syria

The Saudi crown prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz said in conclusion of an official visit to Paris that lasted for two days that Lebanon is "beloved by all," considering that there is no difference between it and Syria.

The Saudi crown prince said following a close door meeting with the French President Jacques Chirac that lasted for one hour at the lunch banquet in the Alesee "there are no differences in view between France and Saudi Arabia on all issues." He said replying to a question on Lebanon's gaining independence that "Lebanon is the beloved of all .. Lebanon and Syria are all brothers and friends no differences among them." He added replying to another question on that there are efforts to convene a conference that brings together the Taif accord and UN resolution 1559 that "agreement is what we want."

For his part, Chirac said replying to a question on his meeting with the Saudi crown prince that "the meeting was excellent, as usual, thanks to the very strong and traditional friendship between Saudi Arabia and France." Chirac and the crown prince visited before the meeting the Islamic arts department in the famous Louvre Museum in Paris. With the fall of the evening, crown prince Abdullah held talks with the French prime minister Jan Pierre Ravaran and had dinner at his banquet.

Today, Friday, the Saudi crown prince will head for Morocco in a private visit after which he will head on April 24 to the USA where he will be meeting the next day with the US President George W. Bush in his farm in Texas.

In Montreal, the office of the Canadian prime minister Paul Martin said that the Saudi crown prince will be heading to Canada by the end of the current month but he cancelled his visit ultimately to this country. The spokeswoman said that the Saudi embassy to Canada announced the cancellation of the visit and Canada does not know why.