SHARM EL-SHEIKH: Saudi King Abdullah and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak met Wednesday in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh to discuss disagreements among Arab states, Lebanon s political crisis and the Arab-Israeli peace process, Mubarak s spokesman said. The major Arab disagreements are connected to the situation in Lebanon, presidential spokesman Suleiman Awwad told reporters after the 3½ hour meeting. Mubarak has hosted several meetings with Arab leaders in recent weeks, likely as part of an effort to mend Arab differences after an Arab summit held in Damascus last month. Mubarak and Abdullah did not attend the summit, and instead sent low-level delegations to protest what they perceive as Syria s obstruction of Lebanese efforts to elect a new president. Syria s relations with Egypt and Saudi Arabia are not in their best form, Awwad said. Two leaders also pledged to support Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in his difficult negotiations with an occupying power that does not abide by its commitments and goes on in its settlement building policy, Awwad added. -AP
