Siniora: Lebanon wants friendly ties with all states except Israel

 

Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said Monday that Lebanon wanted good relations with all countries in the world except for Israel, “which is our only enemy.”

 

Siniora added Lebanon was seeking “good relations” with Syria and Iran. “However, relations must be based on mutual respect. It is not acceptable for Iran to view Lebanon as an arena for conflicts,” he said.

 

Siniora told Future News, Al-Hayat and LBC television stations after he arrived in London that Iran and Syria were “financially and militarily” supporting the opposition in Lebanon.

 

“As for the March 14 Forces, we are mostly dependent on the support of the Lebanese people in addition to our regional and international friends,” he said.

 

Siniora commented on the recent clashes that took place in different areas of Beirut and accused the groups that were triggering internal strife of serving Israel”s interests.

 

“The Lebanese people should not be dragged to war again. We all saw what happened in the past and I believe nobody wants it to happen again,” he said, referring to the 1975-90 Civil War.

 

Siniora ended a visit to Kuwait Monday before heading to London. He is also expected to visit France and Germany.

 

Meanwhile, Christian opposition leader General Michel Aoun on Monday defended Hizbullah”s right to defend itself against any Israeli attack.

 

“Our position is known. We have always spoken about limiting the scope of war in order to restrict Hizbullah”s role to defending Lebanon, but Israel has apparently changed the rules of the game. We cannot tell Hizbullah not to retaliate,” Aoun said.

 

Amid the harsh political rhetoric in the country, Arab League chief Amr Moussa is expected to return to Lebanon on February 24 to push forward the implementation of the three-point Arab plan that was adopted in Cairo last month.

 

Moussa told Future News television late Sunday that he would be sponsoring a four-party meeting on February

24 between leaders of the rival camps.

The meeting would be the second sponsored by Moussa.

 

A previous meeting between Moussa, Aoun, March 14 Forces leaders Amin Gemayel and MP Saad HaririSaad-Hariri-Profile Sep-07  failed to break a presidential election deadlock.

 

Lebanon has been without a president since Emile Lahoud stepped down last November.

 

The feuding parties have agreed on electing the commander of Lebanese Army GeneralMichel Suleiman as president, but are still at odds over the shape of the new government and other critical issues.

 

The three-point Arab plan calls for electing Suleiman, forming a national unity government, and drafting an electoral law for the 2009 legislative elections.

 

The entire standoff seems to be over each party”s share in the next Cabinet as the opposition demands veto power, a demand repeatedly turned down by the ruling coalition.

 

Aoun said on Monday that the opposition had not drawn back on its demand to get veto power in the next Cabinet.

 

“We want veto power because we want to have a say in government decisions,” he said.

 

“I don”t know if Moussa has something new to say, but we will treat his efforts in a positive manner,” he added.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said on Monday that electing a new president with half plus one is still an option to be considered by the March 14 Forces.

 

“We have not been speaking about this option since General Suleiman was nominated as a consensus candidate, but this does not mean that we have ruled it out,” Geagea said.

 

“We still can elect a president by half plus one or simply keep the Siniora government running,” he added.