July 31, 2010 - Naharnet - King Abdullah Pledges to Postpone Announcement of Indictment, Assad Describes Summit as Excellent

Parliamentary and political sources from the March 8 forces reported Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as saying that Saudi King Abdullah had "pledged to postpone the announcement of the indictment in the Special Tribunal for Lebanon," reported the daily An Nahar Saturday.
They added that the monarch will attempt to persuade the United States to delay the indictment despite doubts that postponing the announcement is unlikely to happen.

A former governmental authority told the daily however that Friday's tripartite summit mainly focused on instilling calm in Lebanon, noting that "no one has the power to divert the tribunal's course."

Meanwhile, a prominent official told An Nahar: "All official, parliamentary, and diplomatic figures who greeted Assad and King Abdullah realized that the regional atmosphere is suitable to protect Lebanon and ease the tensions, which was translated in the summit's closing statement."

The statement focused on supporting the Doha and Taif accords, continuing the Lebanese national dialogue, committing to avoiding to resorting to violence, and placing Lebanon's interests above all others.

Assad was meanwhile reported as saying that his meetings with President Michel Suleiman and House Speaker Nabih Berri focused on calming the situation in Lebanon, describing the meetings as "excellent."