Syria on Thursday officially invited Lebanon to the Arab summit. Syria's deputy foreign minister Ahmed Arnous handed over the invitation to Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh in an envelope bearing the name of Prime Minister Fuad Siniora.
"I have received an invitation from the envoy to Syrian Prime Mohammad Naji Otri for Prime Minister Fuad Siniora to attend the 20th Arab summit," Salloukh told reporters, according to AFP. "My ministry will submit the invitation to the prime minister when he returns from the Organisation of the Islamic Conference summit being held in Dakar," he added.
Salloukh is one of six opposition ministers who quit Saniora's cabinet in November 2006, but has still been fulfilling some of his official duties.
The Arab summit, scheduled for March 29-30 in Damascus, has been mired in controversy over Lebanon's participation and the presidential crisis it is facing because of a standoff between the opposition, backed by Syria and Iran, and the majority backed by many Arab states.
