Lebanon condemns use of chemical weapons in Syria

Lebanon President Michel Suleiman condemned Thursday the use of chemical weapons in Syria and called on the U.N. Security Council to take “appropriate measures” in this regard.

“We condemn the use of chemical weapons in Syria, but the Security Council must take the appropriate measures in this regard, ” Suleiman was quoted by MTV as saying at the opening of the Old Souk in the city of Jbeil.

He added “some parties were trying to move the repercussions of strife that is striking the region to Lebanon but our response should be forming an inclusive cabinet, abiding by the Baabda Declaration and sitting around the dialogue table.”

“We have paid a heavy price for our democracy, but we must not pay the price of the democracy of others,” the president said.

He criticized the rival political factions for stalling the formation of a new Cabinet with their conflicting conditions. “The obstruction of the Cabinet formation is not a democratic act,” he said.

Suleiman also stressed that “only the army must have weapons to defend the land and autonomous security is rejected.”