Lebanon and Syria agree to back Hizbollah

Lebanese prime minister was once a major US ally, but has shifted his position amid new fears that Israel may launch a summer war.

The Lebanese prime minister Saad al Hariri, left, with the Syrian president Bashar Assad ahead of a visit to Washington.

Damascus // Syria and Lebanon have agreed they will present a united front of opposition to Israel and support for Hizbollah, when the Lebanese prime minister, Saad Hariri, travels to Washington next week.

Syria's president, Bashar Assad, held talks with the Lebanese leader in Damascus on Tuesday. In contrast to Mr Hariri's first prime ministerial visit to Syria in December, when he was joined by a large government delegation, this time only senior aides accompanied the two. Bussaina Shaaban, a Syrian presidential adviser, said the meeting was designed to "co-ordinate policy" ahead of Mr Hariri's trip to the United States, expected to take place on Monday.

Tensions in the Middle East are running high, with fears that Israel, backed by its ally the US, could launch a summer war on Syria and Lebanon. The prospect of hostilities breaking out appeared to increase after Israel accused Damascus last month of supplying long-range missiles to Hizbollah. Although the allegations were not confirmed by the United States, US officials did say the Lebanese militant group had rearmed with Syrian help.

Despite its strong showing in last year's elections and position in Mr Hariri's coalition government, Hizbollah is considered a terrorist organisation by Washington and has been ordered to decommission its military wing by the United Nations, something it refuses to do. Mr Hariri was once a major US regional ally and opponent to both Hizbollah and Syria's role in Lebanon, accusing Damascus of murdering his father, Rafik Hariri, a former prime minister. He has since shifted his position and is now considered a Syrian ally and supporter of Hizbollah's right to bear arms, against US and Israeli wishes.

He accused Israel of trying to foment a regional war with its recent missile allegations against Hizbollah and Damascus. "The timing and nature of the meeting [between Mr Assad and Mr Hariri] illustrates the critical situation facing the region and also shows that Syria and Lebanon are working together at the very highest levels," said Umran Zaubie, a member of Syria's ruling Baath Party, who helped represent some of the accused in Hariri's assassination.

"Syria and Lebanon share the conflict with Israel and they stand together, with the same destiny, in the face of Israeli aggression." Syrian analysts said they expected the US president, Barack Obama, to try to restore Washington's close connection with Mr Hariri and to convince him to take a harder line against Hizbollah and Damascus. Mr Hariri used to lead the anti-Syrian March 14th movement, which played a key role in forcing the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon five years ago.

Such efforts would fail, they said, with the Lebanese now agreed that Israel posed the main threat to its interests and regional peace. "The Israeli-Arab conflict remains the most dangerous problem in the Middle East, and if there is any targeting of Lebanon [by Israel] I think it is understood that will be considered an attack on Syria, under our united security front," Mr Zaubie said. He said he expected Mr Hariri to lobby for Mr Obama to "rein in Israel".

"The Arab policy focus is that we do not want a war but that Lebanon has the right to defend itself if attacked," Mr Zaubie said. "If there is a war it will be started by Israel, and therefore America's responsibility." Although the Syrian and Lebanese leaders agreed on policy co-ordination, there was no official mention of Mr Hariri delivering a personal message from Mr Assad to his US counterpart. The two men have not held direct talks, with the US continuing to enforce economic sanctions on Damascus as a "state sponsor of terror".

"Hariri will certainly take a message from Syria when he meets the US president," said a Syrian analyst on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of his remarks. "The message will be clear: 'Syria does not want war and is not pushing Hizbollah to war. Damascus does not want a fight over this.' "This will explain to Obama that if he can stop Israel from starting a war, the Syrians and Hizbollah will not start one; in other words, Obama can keep the peace in the region this summer."

Since Mr Hariri's last visit to Damascus there have been reports in the Lebanese media that his relationship with Mr Assad was strained. Syrian officials say their latest meeting shows that ties between Beirut and Damascus, and the two men, are stronger than ever. @Email:[e-mail]