ABU DHABI (AFP) — The United Arab Emirates announced Thursday that President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan will attend the Arab summit in Syria later this month, amid uncertainty over whether all Gulf Arab states will show up.
Sheikh Khalifa "will head the UAE delegation to the Arab summit ... in Damascus March 29-30," Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahayan was quoted by the official WAM news agency as saying.
He said Khalifa stressed that "the UAE is keen on doing everything it can to unify Arab ranks."
The UAE became the first of the six Gulf Arab states to confirm its attendance of the summit at head of state level, a day after Arab foreign ministers met in Cairo to discuss the protracted Lebanese crisis and preparations for the summit.
A Gulf official told AFP earlier this week that Saudi Arabia and some other Gulf states will stay away from the summit unless Lebanon is invited, whether it has a new president or not.
Arab League Secretary General Amr Mussa said after the meeting in Cairo that Lebanon will be invited to the summit.
Lebanon, which has been without a president since November, is in the throes of a political crisis that has strained relations between Syria and regional powerhouse Saudi Arabia.
Syria, and its ally Iran, back the Lebanese opposition led by the Shiite militant group Hezbollah.
Saudi Arabia along with its Western allies backs the cabinet of Prime Minister Fuad Siniora and the ruling majority.
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