In a speech sure to exacerbate divisions back home, pro-Syrian Lebanese President Emile Lahoud on Wednesday praised the roles that Syria and the militant Hezbollah guerrilla group play in his country. Addressing heads of state and ministers on the second day of an Arab League summit in Khartoum, Sudan, Lahoud said he was certain that fellow Arabs supported ongoing national dialogue talks between Lebanon's leaders. "Lebanon...is confident that its current quest for consensus and unity will be embraced and supported by Arabs, starting by its neighbor Syria, the country that has always stood by (Lebanon's) its side," Lahoud said. "This would strengthen choices expressed freely by the Lebanese, foremost among those is Lebanon's commitment to its right to recover its remaining occupied territory in the south, notably the Shebaa Farms," he added, speaking of an Israeli-occupied territory on the border of Lebanon, Syria and Israel.Lahoud also spoke of the need to protect the national resistance, a reference to the militant Hezbollah guerrilla group, which he described as "a symbol for steadfastness and dignity." The final declaration of the Arab summit expressed support for Lebanon's resistance, or the Iranian and Syrian-backed Hezbollah. "The summit affirmed Lebanon's right to maintain the resistance against Israeli occupation, using all means," he said. But Lahoud's comments were sure to anger the anti-Syrian majority in Lebanon, which has been calling on Lahoud, a close Syrian ally, to resign. He has refused.