March 31, 2008

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Syrian President Bashar Assad (AP)

The Arab Summit in Damascus drew to a close Sunday without reaching a resolution on the Lebanese crisis, which was the reason the summit was convened in the first place.

The summit was practically boycotted by major Arab nations, and even Lebanon itself was absent. Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan — major U.S. allies in the region — protested at Syria hosting the summit as they believe that it is responsible for the prolonging of the crisis.

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“We knew at the outset that the task would be difficult. We acknowledged that publicly and privately. We knew this would be a road with many bumps— and there have been many bumps—and that continues to this day. But we are not deterred. We are, to the contrary, determined more than ever to proceed to realize the common objective, which we all share, of a Middle East that is at peace with security and prosperity for the people of Israel, for Palestinians, and for all the people in the region. We will continue our efforts in that regard, undeterred and undaunted by the difficulties, the complexities or the bumps in the road.”—George Mitchell, special envoy for Middle East peace, remarks with Prime Minister Netanyahu, September 29, 2010

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