Saudi mediation between Syria and Lebanon

The Saudi foreign minister prince Saud al-Faisal said that his country proposed to Syria and Lebanon a plan to end tension between the two states which erupted because of the assassination of the former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri.

In an interview with the British daily the Financial Times, al-Faisal said that the proposal is now left in the hands of the two countries and "they will notify us about their decision."

The Saudi official did not indicate the details of the Saudi proposal but he stressed that reducing tension between Damascus and Beirut and preventing the occurrence of more violence in the region fall on top of the priorities of Saudi Arabia.

Al-Faisal stressed that there is no link (compromise) between the mediation in the relations between the two states and mediation to the UN investigation into the Hariri assassination, on which al-Faisal said that his country is eager to know the side responsible for the assassination.

For its part, the paper said that the Arab media indicated a seven point plan that was put by Saudi Arabia and Egypt and includes in particular halting media campaigns launched by the two states and establishing diplomatic relations between them and coordinating their foreign policy stances.