Saudis Urge Syrian Leader to Cooperate With U.N.
By HASSAN M. FATTAH

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Jan. 8 – President Bashar al-Assad of Syria rushed to Saudi Arabia and Egypt on Sunday for surprise meetings with their leaders.

The meetings occurred a day after he was quoted as saying that he would not cooperate with the United Nations investigation of the assassination of Rafik Hariri, the former Lebanese prime minister.

Within hours of a meeting in Damascus with the Saudi foreign minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, Mr. Assad flew to Jidda, Saudi Arabia. There, he joined a meeting and banquet with top members of the Saudi ruling family, including King Abdullah; Prince Naif, the interior minister; Prince Miqren, the chief of general intelligence; and Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the secretary general of the National Security Council, the government-run Saudi Press Agency reported.

He then continued on to Sharm el Sheik, Egypt, where he met with President Hosni Mubarak.

In wording clearly meant to encourage Mr. Assad to cooperate, the Saudi royal family released a statement saying that at the meeting, King Abdullah “affirmed the kingdom’s desire for stronger relations between Syria and Lebanon in all fields, so that the interests of both countries and security of the region are protected.”

Mr. Assad had apparently been seeking a face-saving solution.

It is not the first time that Saudi Arabia has prodded Syria to ease relations with Lebanon and the United Nations…

Saudi Arabia has long been a friend of Lebanon. Rafik Hariri, who was killed by a car bomb last year, held Saudi citizenship as well as Lebanese, so the Saudis took his death personally. They were angered by his death and, informally at least, blame Syria. They don’t want to cut Al-Assad’s government any slack here and want the situation cleaned up quickly.