The head of the Arab League said today that Libya had agreed to a forthcoming Arab summit being staged in Beirut, after a diplomatic row between Tripoli and Lebanese Shi'ites had threatened to derail the meeting.
"The crisis concerning the summit is over," Amr Moussa, secretary-general of the 22-member organisation, told reporters on his arrival from Libya where he met Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
Libya state television confirmed Libya's participation. "Libya has dropped all objections to the Arab summit being held in Beirut and the brother leader (Gaddafi) will send a delegate."
The meeting of Arab leaders is scheduled in the Lebanese capital on March 27-28. It will focus on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Libya had requested the summit be moved to Cairo following criticism of its likely attendance from Lebanese Shi'ites, who blame Tripoli for the 1978 disappearance of the Shi'ite leader Imam Musa al-Sadr.
Libya says it had nothing to do with the disappearance of Sadr, who went missing during an official visit to Libya.