BEIRUT--Syrian President Bashar Al Assad will accompany King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia on a visit to Lebanon on Friday to ease political tensions over a UN tribunal set up after the 2005 killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. "The visit of King Abdullah and President [Al] Assad, who are coming together on Friday, will be an answer to all the questions about stability in Lebanon," Nohad Al Machnouk, a member of Lebanese Prime Minister Sa'ad Hariri's parliamentary bloc told the press. Saudi officials had said King Abdullah would hold talks with Al Assad in Damascus before heading to Beirut. The Saudi monarch is expected to press Al Assad to use his influence over the Hezbollah, whose leader Hassan Nasrallah has condemned the UN tribunal set up to try suspects in the Hariri killing. On Sunday, Nasrallah said he expected Hezbollah members to be indicted by the tribunal, which he condemned as an "Israeli project". Any indictment of Hizbollah members would severely strain Lebanon's unity government which includes Hizbollah ministers.
