Beirut, March 21 (Xinhuanet) -- Lebanese President Emile Lahoud
said on Thursday that all Arab countries stand against possible U.
S.-led military strikes on Iraq, including those states which have
been at odds with Baghdad.
   During an exclusive written interview with Xinhua ahead of the
March 27-28 Arab summit in Beirut, Lahoud said the world community
has adopted many resolutions on Iraq and United Nations weapons
inspectors has entered the country several times to check alleged
weapons of mass destruction.
   "Iraq is developing ties with its Arab neighbors in an active
and constructive way, then why does the United States want to
destroy Iraq by military means?" said Lahoud.
   To this extent, the Lebanese president called for a permanent
lifting of the decade-long sanctions imposed on Iraq instead of
threatening to use force against the country, adding thousands upon
thousands of Iraqi children died due to starvation and illness
during years of international sanctions.
   Iraq has been under the international sanctions since 1990 for
its invasion of neighboring Kuwait.
   On the Israeli-Palestinian crisis, Lahoud said that the
Palestinian issue will figure high on the political agenda of the
Beirut summit, particularly the latest developments of the
situation after the bloody conflict between the two sides claimed
over 1,500 lives, mostly Palestinians.
   He hoped that the Beirut summit will become a landmark on the
way of restoring Arab rights by adopting a clear and unified stand
for a just, durable and comprehensive peace in the region, and
force Israel to implement all relevant international resolutions
and stop its aggression against the Arab people.
   He also condemned what he called an Israeli massacre against the
Palestinians and its occupation of Lebanese, Syrian and Palestinian
lands.
   While commenting on the peace proposal by Saudi Crown Prince
Abdullah Ibn Abdul-Aziz, Lahoud urged the upcoming summit to adopt
a clear and unified Arab stand to deal with the pressure from the
outside world, saying Arab countries should prove themselves to the
world as an important political force, which is able to determine
its own fate.
   He said the summit will discuss the Saudi peace initiative,
which calls on Israel to withdraw its troops from all occupied Arab
lands in exchange for Arab recognition of the Jewish state.
   However, he said Israel has so far failed to respond positively
to the Saudi plan, and it still refuses to implement relevant U.N.
resolutions.
   Asked about whether Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat will attend
the summit, he said Lebanon has made all possible preparations for
Arafat's participation, but he declined to confirm if Arafat will
be able to come to the meeting.
   Arafat had been under virtual house arrest by Israeli troops in
the West Bank town of Ramallah since early December until he was
recently allowed to move in the Palestinian self-rule areas. He is
still barred by Israeli authorities from going abroad.
   Lahoud further called on all Arab leaders to participate in the
meeting given the critical situation in the Middle East and the
importance of the summit.
   U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan and European Union foreign
policy chief Javier Solana will attend the meeting with leaders of
other international organizations, he said.
   Regarding the ongoing U.S.-led war on terrorism, he noted that
terrorism has become an international challenge, and no country can
look on with folded arms.
   He believes that no Arab country supports terrorism or harbors
terrorists, but he stressed there should be a clear definition for
terrorism before resorting to action, adding the Palestinian
uprising against the Israeli occupation can not be termed as
terrorism.  Enditem