President al-Assad's visit to Lebanon

In Monday's edition, the London based Al-Aharq Al-Awsat daily said that a high-ranking Syrian official told the paper that President Hafez al-Assad's visit to Lebanon will take place eventually and may be announced just 24 hours before it takes place or even a few hours.

The official made it clear that if President al-Assad did not intend to hold such a visit he would not have mentioned it twice while answering a question during the press meeting he held upon his recent visit to Paris. The Syrian official added that President al-Assad does not include this forthcoming visit to come in the context of official and protocol visits. "What has been between Syria and Lebanon is beyond that and does not need these formalities or protocols."

Concerning the election of a new president for the republic of Lebanon, the Syrian official denied that Syria has taken a final decision in this regard. He indicated what has been said about Damascus in supporting one candidate or another is "a mere personal conclusion drawn by the one who reached it."

The Syrian official hoped that Lebanon will have a President for Lebanon who will be able to consolidate the role of institutions. He, in this respect praised the characteristics called for by Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butrous Sfeir in the person of the required president.

The paper did not indicate the identity of this Syrian official.