Albright fails to bring together Syrian, Israeli FM s

An attempt was made by US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright to bring together the Syrian foreign minister and Lebanese prime minister at a breakfast banquet with Israel's foreign minister to which the two foreign ministers were invited today.

Lebanese officials stressed that Lebanese prime minister and Foreign Minister Salim al-Hoss refused the invitation officially and that the Syrian side told the Lebanese side that it had rejected the invitation.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa said the invitation was extended to all concerned with the Middle East peace process " I do not think that everybody will come." Moussa continued that he will meet with Albright and Israeli Foreign Minister David Levy today in a tripartite meeting.

Well-informed sources said that Jordanian Foreign Minister Abdul Illah al-Khatib said he will attending the breakfast meeting, but other Arab Middle East and Gulf states that received the invitation have not decided yet on this matter.

Albright's invitation came under the title "peace partners," but the Syrian and Lebanese stances refuse normalization before completing negotiations.