Telephone call between Lahoud, al-Assad on resuming negotiations

Official news reports in Beirut said that in the course of continued consultations and coordination between Lebanon and Syria a telephone call was made on Wednesday night between Lebanese President Emile Lahoud and Syrian President Hafez al-Assad, during which they discussed the latest developments in the region, the Middle East peace process and resuming negotiations.

The telephone call was made after US President Bill Clinton announced the resumption of Syrian-Israeli negotiations next week.

The sources reported that Lebanon has not yet received any US invitation to take part in resuming the negotiations. It is, however, expected that the US ambassador to Lebanon, David Satterfield, will brief President Lahoud and Prime Minister Salim al-Hoss today on the new development.