"Syrian efforts alone are not enough, and there should be common efforts by all the Arab parties which have friendships and influence in Lebanon, particularly the brothers in Saudi Arabia who have strong influence, not possessed by Syria, on the majority, " he said in an address to the preparatory meeting of Arab foreign ministers.

On Sunday, Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri went bluntly in a TV interview, saying unless Syria and Saudi Arabia resolve their differences there will be no solution in Lebanon.

With no foreseeable breakthrough at hand, the Lebanese crisis is casting a shadow over the prospects of the forthcoming summit here, the analysts said.

Palestinian split toughen up peace process

After the bloody conflict between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement and the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, or Hamas, in the Gaza Strip last June, the two rivals have been actually spilt up, with Fatah in the West Bank and Hamas in Gaza.

Despite a deal to revive direct dialogue signed in Yemen's capital Sanaa on Sunday, they still have different explanation of the accord.

"The two movements Hamas and Fatah have agreed to accept the Yemeni initiative as a framework for dialogue between the two movements and a return of the Palestinian situation to what it was before the events in Gaza," said the text of the declaration.

But while Hamas focused on the first part of the statement, Fatah highlighted the second as a precondition for any talks.

The two largest Palestinian groups would continue to bargain over the control of Gaza and the road to reconciliation will never be smooth, said the analysts.

"Palestinian internal divisions are not conducive to the Palestinian cause, which would also bring about negative effects on the Middle East peace process," a diplomatic source said here on Thursday.

On the Israeli-Palestinian front, talks between the Palestinian National Authority and the Jewish state made little headway after the U.S.-hosted Annapolis peace conference last November.