Today Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah has decided to skip the summit too and will be sending his permanent representative at the Arab League to represent his country .
"I will head Saudi Arabia's delegation to the summit," Ahmad bin Abdelaziz Qattan told reporters after a meeting of the Arab League representatives in the Syrian capital.
The announcement confirmed Damascus fears that Lebanon's political crisis would hit the level of turnout at the summit and undermine Syria's role in the Arab world .
"We meet today without a president in Lebanon due to the continued and unjustifiable delays in the election," Qattan told the meeting earlier.
Last night , during an interview with New TV Lebanon's parliament speaker Nabih Berri , a key member of the Iranian and Syrian backed Hezbollah-led opposition hinted that he would be putting off for the 17th time the election session. Tuesday march 25 was the scheduled day for electing a president.
This delay would mean that there would be no Lebanese president to attend the March 29-30 Arab summit in Damascus.
Lebanon has been without a president since Emile Lahoud's term ended on November 23, 2007.
Saudi Arabia and Egypt , the most influential countries in the Arab world blame Syria for blocking the election in Lebanon. Both are key supporters of the parliament majority of Lebanon.
"We look forward to an effective Syrian role in achieving a Lebanese national reconciliation," the Saudi envoy said
Many political observers believe that the absence of the most important Arab leaders could torpedo the Damascus summit as other leaders could follow suit.
Observers expect the leaders of Jordan, Kuwait, UAE and Bahrain to skip the summit and send lower level representatives.
Lebanon has not decided yet whether to participate or not . A meeting for the cabinet is planned for Wednesday March 26 to discuss the issue .
Yesterday Speaker Nabih Berri said " Iam sure the government will decide against participation in the summit " and warned that this could isolate Lebanon.
Many experts are of the opinion that Lebanon will not benefit one way or the other by participating , since nothing will come out of the summit.
Samir Geagea , leader of the Lebanese Forces and a key member of the ruling majority said " Lebanon's participation amounts to giving the Syrian regime a certificate of innocence "
Top picture: Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah ( L) and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak (R) with Arab league Secretary General Amr Moussa ( C) . The absence of the two most influential Arab leaders from the summit in Damascus will be a major blow for the Syrian regime
The Lebanon seat is empty during a meeting of representative for the Arab League to prepare for the upcoming Arab summit in Damascus March 24, 2008. Photo courtesy of Reuters