Beirut is due to welcome Saudi King Abdullah and Syrian President Bashar Assad on Friday for summit talks with Lebanon's President Michel Suleiman.
Assad's visit will be his first since the 2005 assassination of former premier Rafik Hariri. The Syrian leader will be travelling to Beirut along with the Saudi monarch who is due in Damascus on Thursday as part of a regional tour that will also take him to Jordan. On Wednesday King Abdullah visited Egypt.
Also coming will be the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani.
Informed sources told An Nahar daily in remarks published Wednesday that the importance of the visits lies in the Arab leaders attempts to "ward off an explosion whose shrapnel could reach the entire region because the Lebanese issue is the hottest during this stage."
The sources said Abdullah, Assad and Suleiman will discuss all issues linked to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.
