Syrian President Visits Lebanon

401808 02: President Bashar Al Assad meets with Lebanese leaders March 3, 2002 at the Lebanese presidential palace outside Beirut, Lebanon. It is the first visit by a Syrian leader to Lebanon in 27 years and the first official Syrian visit to Beirut in more than 50 years even though Syria maintains 25,000 troops in Lebanon and has a strong say in all political matters in the country. The Lebanese and Syrian leaders did not directly comment on the recent Saudi proposal for peace between Israel and the Arab world. But signs indicated they are not happy with the peace plan as they met to coordinate policies ahead of the Arab summit to be held in Beirut later this month. (Photo by Courtney Kealy/Getty Images)