With the imminence of the 20th Arab summit due on Saturday in Damascus, lingering problems in the region, especially those in Lebanon, the Palestinian territories and Iraq, are still intruding as tough challenges for Arab leaders, with no sign of immediate solution, analysts said in Damascus on Thursday.

Lebanon crisis casts shadow over summit prospects

Lebanon is currently enmeshed in its most serious political crisis after the 1975-1990 civil war. For the first time in its history, the presidential seat has been vacant since November 24 of 2007 when former President Emile Lahoud stepped down.

As the vying parliament majority, led by the pro-western Saad Hariri, and opposition, headed by the Shiite Hezbollah movement, cannot reconcile their disputes, a final blue print for a future government could not be hammered out, leading to a 17-time delay of the presidential election despite repeated efforts from the Arab League (AL).

Syria, which supports Hezbollah together with its ally Iran, refused demands by Saudi Arabia and Egypt, close to Hariri and Prime Minister Fuad Seniora, to pressure the militant group into an expedite solution, which consequently deepened the rift between the two sides.

Saudi King Abdullah and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, as well as Lebanon, have thus refused to attend the Damascus summit, snubbing the host aside for blocking the presidential election in its smaller neighbor.

The proxy war in Lebanon have witnessed a trade of accusations by both groups, blaming each other for not putting enough pressure on local Lebanese parties to reach a solution.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem on Thursday called on Saudi Arabia to use its influence over the majority toward solving Lebanon's political crisis.