Abul Gheit: Syria and Lebanon are in very critical situation

The Egyptian foreign minister Ahmad Abul Gheit said on Friday that his country is making consultations with each of Syria and the USA with the aim to assure that coming developments will not negatively affect the conditions in Damascus and Beirut, stressing Egypt's rejection of the calls to change the ruling regime in Syria.

Al-Ahram al-Arabi magazine in its issue to be published today ( Saturday) quoted Abul Gheit as inviting all parties to deal with the Syrian- Lebanese file with a greater amount of wisdom. He said that "Syria and Lebanon are currently passing a critical position, and matters are complicated as a result of developments in Palestine and Iraq."

He indicated that the Egyptian analysis considers that dangers are coming and this necessitates "to understand the currently tense conditions and to deal with them with great amount of wisdom and credibility in a way that can avoid additional risks occurring to the region."

He said that in its attempts between Damascus and Washington, his country aims at discharging the currently standing tension, adding that he visited Washington in the course of the efforts made by Egypt in this regard.

Abul Gheit stressed the need of not politicizing the investigation carried out by UN into the assassination crime of Rafiq Hariri, stressing that Egypt will not accept the calls demanding the charge of the ruling regime in Syria.