Lebanese Forces Samir Geagea criticized Hezbollah’s uproar about the visit by the US delegation to the Masnaa border area and asked : “Is it in Lebanon’s interest to maintain a good relation with the U.S. or not?” He reminded them that “Lebanon is not Cuba or North Korea.”
Geagea made the statement during an interview with Qatari al-Watan newspaper to be published Monday.
Today The Lebanese Forces issued a statement in which Geagea, said that the Foreign Affairs Ministry is not expected to be informed on the details of all events taking place, referring to the Wednesday visit of the US security delegation to the Masnaa border area.
This comes after the Foreign Affairs Ministry issued a statement on Thursday that it was not informed of the US security delegation’s visit.
The ministry should ask the concerned ministries for information, the LF leader added.
Geagea added that the discussions on the issue of the US delegation visit resemble those on the 2007 US-ISF cooperation agreement. The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and the Internal Security Forces (ISF) are the institutions that should be in charge of such issues.
Several Lebanese politicians and parties—including Amal MP Qassem Hashem and the Progressive Socialist Party—criticized the delegation’s visit.
An unnamed US Embassy in Lebanon official issued a statement on Friday that the Lebanese government invited and coordinated with the US security delegation that visited the Masnaa border area .
The official said the delegation of the US State Department’s Antiterrorism Assistance Program (ATA) visited Lebanon to assess training programs administered by the US in cooperation with the Lebanese state, adding that the trip has been planned since March in coordination with the Interior Ministry, General Security, Customs and Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF).
Leave a Reply