Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Saud Al-Faisal met in Beirut today Lebanese President Emile Lahoud, to whom he handed over a message from Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd bin Abdulaziz. Yesterday, he met with Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Al-Hariri, to whom he also conveyed messages from the Saudi leadership concerning the latest developments in the Middle East.

In a statement, Prince Saud declared: "The deteriorating situation in the region makes it necessary for the Arabs to conduct consultations." In answer to a question on the Kingdom's vision about possible ways of ending Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people, he said: "This could be done through implementation of the agreements concluded earlier." He added: "We are witnessing Israel's extremism in tackling various issues and its remarkable deviation from the path of the peace process." He confirmed that his current tour of Arab countries aimed at exploring ideas and cementing a common vision on the Middle East situation.
Prince Saud arrived in Beirut yesterday evening from Damascus, where he handed over a similar message to Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad. Earlier, he had visited Cairo, where he delivered a message to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Following his meeting with President Lahoud, Prince Saud left Beirut for Amman to present a message to King Abdullah II of Jordan.

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