Libya to boycott Arab Summit in Saudi Arabia

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Libya won't attend the upcoming Arab summit in Saudi Arabia, the Libyan foreign minister said Sunday, adding that the Arab world "is not serious" and that "joint Arab action is dysfunctional." "Arab joint action is marred by disorder," Libyan Foreign Minister Abdel-Rahman Shalqam said at Arab League headquarters in Cairo Sunday. "Libya is insisting on a real Arab mechanism _ not policies of axes, groups and unilateral changes to decisions," an angry Shalqam said. Arab foreign ministers convened Sunday to prepare the agenda for the summit, which is scheduled for Mar. 28-29 in the Saudi capital Riyadh. Late Saturday, Shalqam announced that his country's "seat at the summit will be vacant." Libya will not attend due to "procedural errors," he said.