Lebanon government announces boycott of Arab summit

By Tom Perry

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon's anti-Syrian government said on Tuesday it would boycott a March 29-30 Arab summit in Damascus because of Syria's role in blocking the election of a new Lebanese president.

The Beirut government blames Syria and its Lebanese allies, led by guerrilla and political movement Hezbollah, for the crisis that has paralyzed government and left the country without a president for the first time since the end of the 1975-90 civil war.

"Based on the injustice that Syria has subjected Lebanon to (and) in light of the vacuum in the presidency ... the council of ministers decides that Lebanon will not take part in the Arab summit in Damascus that is scheduled for March 29-30," the government said in a statement after a cabinet meeting.

The statement described the boycott as "a regrettable precedent that has been imposed on us", noting that Lebanon had never before stayed away from the Arab meeting.

Lebanon is at the heart of a conflict between Syria and Saudi Arabia -- which supports Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's cabinet and also blames Damascus for the crisis.

Saudi Arabia has decided to send its permanent Arab League representative to the Damascus summit -- effectively a snub of a meeting that should bring together heads of state.

Like Saudi King Abdullah, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is also not expected to attend the summit. Both Arab powers are key allies of the United States, which also supports Siniora's government and accuses Syria of meddling in Lebanon.

Syria's allies in Lebanon accuse the governing coalition of being no more than tools of U.S. foreign policy and say that Washington has derailed initiatives to resolve the conflict.