CRAWFORD, Texas - US Vice President Dick Cheney was to meet Sunday with Saadeddine Hariri, son of slain Lebanese former prime minister Rafiq Hariri, to offer condolences, the White House said.
"The vice president will be meeting with him today to express condolences for his father's murder," spokeswoman Dana Perino said, adding that the meeting was expected to take place in Dallas, Texas.
The younger Hariri left early Saturday for the United States, according to his office, after announcing that he would run for office in Lebanese parliamentary elections expected to take place by the end of May.
Rafiq Hariri, a five-time prime minister credited with rebuilding Lebanon after the 1975-1990 civil war, was killed in a February 14 Beirut bomb blast that triggered a deep political crisis there.
It also led to renewed US and French demands that Syria withdraw all soldiers and intelligence agents from its neighbor.
Bush, who has repeatedly called for Lebanon's elections to be held as scheduled in May, was to discuss democratic reforms in the Middle East at his ranch here Monday with Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz.
04/24/2005 18:06 GMT