Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora snubbed an invitation from his Israeli counterpart Ehud Olmert on Monday to hold peace talks, two months after a cease-fire in a war between their neighbouring states.
"Real peace resides in Israel accepting the Arab peace initiative, promoted at the time by prince (now King) Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and agreed to at the Arab League summit held in Beirut," said a statement from Siniora's office.
"The prime minister has already said more than once that Lebanon will be the last Arab country to sign a peace deal with Israel," it said, without referring directly to Olmert's offer.
The 2002 Saudi peace initiative said all Arab countries would recognise Israel and sign a peace deal if it withdrew from land captured during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.
It was backed by the Arab League at a summit in Beirut in 2003.
"I call on Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora to meet with me to establish peace between us and Lebanon," Olmert told the opening session of Israel's parliament earlier Monday.