Arab League Secretary General Chedli Klibi and Syrian Foreign Minister Abdel Halim Khaddam stressed the importance of ending ties between Israel and Lebanon’s right-wing Christian militias.
‘The question of dealing with Israel is on the top our agenda,’ Klibi said.
Khaddam has repeatedly said that the issue must be resolved before substantive talks could be held.
‘There can be no substantial discussions before the Israeli door is cllsed,’ Khaddam said. ‘This is not just the Syrian stance, but a stance shared by the Arab League and the committee.’
The other major issue to be discussed was a proposal that the presently all-Syrian ‘peacekeeping’ force in Lebanon be be diluted with other Arab troops.
The 30,000-man Syrian force was sent to Lebanon under an Arab League mandate in 1976 to snuff out the country’s civil war. But the Syrians often heavy-handed attempts to keep the peace since then — and their frequent battles with Christian militias that have turned against their presence — have led to charges that the peacekeeping force has become a party to the conflict.
So far the Arab committee on Lebanon has scored two successes. It arranged a nationwide cease-fire that has held, except for minor violations, for 27 days, and paved the way for an end to the Syrian siege of the Bekaa Valley city of Zahle, 33 miles east of Beirut.
The Beirut daily An Nahar reported that the committee had drawn up a four-plint peace plan to be implemented over a one-year period. The paper said details were being kept under ‘strict security.’
It was believed the basis of the plan involved greater use of regular Lebanese Army troops in security work, opening the divided city of Beirut, and disarming militia groups that operate around the country.