Lebanon Prime Minister Saad Hariri said during an interview with the Al-Hayat newspaper to be published on Friday that the Saudi-Syrian (S-S) agreement on reducing tension in Lebanon “had been finalized a long time ago,even before the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, (Saudi) King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, traveled to New York for treatment.”
Hariri also said : “ I will not implement any commitment I made before the other party implements what it said it would commit to and added ‘anything else is an attempt to sabotage the Saudi-Syrian efforts.”
” This is the major base of the Syrian-Saudi efforts”. Hariri stressed
He also stressed that the talk about the formation of a new cabinet as part of the settlement was “totally out of the question” in the ongoing Saudi-Syrian efforts.
Hariri is back in Lebanon and following his return, he called President Michel Suleiman and parliament Speaker Nabih Berri to discussed the latest developments.
On November 12 the Saudi king underwent surgery in New York for herniated disc.
Saudi and Syrian officials have reportedly been working on a compromise that would resolve tensions in Lebanon over the imminent STL indictment . Reports say that the STL may soon indict Hezbollah members in its investigation of the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese PM Rafik Hariri.
Hariri’s statement contradicts Wednesday’s report by all Manar TV.
Yesterday Hezbollah’s mouthpiece Al-Manar television reported that “a solution to the Lebanese impasse is nearly ready and is awaiting the recovery of Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdel Aziz’s .”
Tensions in Lebanon have been simmering for months as it has become increasingly apparent the United Nations Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) is leaning toward charging Hezbollah , the Shiite Muslim group with killing Mr. Hariri on Valentine’s Day 2005.
The massive, 1,000 kilogram, car bomb that killed Mr. Hariri as he traveled along Beirut’s fashionable seaside Corniche, left a crater 10 meters deep, knocked down several buildings and killed 21 other people, in addition to killing the billionaire tycoon who had rebuilt war-shattered Beirut.
Lebanese politicians fear any indictment of Hezbollah members for the killing could lead to a situation where the group might militarily seize large parts of Lebanon, just it they did in May 2008, when it briefly grabbed control of the western part of Beirut and tried, but failed, to occupy the Druze stronghold of Mt. Lebanon.
For months now, rumors have hinted UN investigators have uncovered evidence a Hezbollah hit-squad carried out the killing.
Hezbollah’s leaders have denied the charge.
Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah also warned all Lebanese last November not to assist UN investigators, saying to do so would be tantamount to an attack on his movement.
Nasrallah vowed to “cut off the hand” of anyone who tried to arrest a Hezbollah fighter.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.