Solana backs Arab plan to end Lebanese crisis

 

European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana said in remarks published Thursday that the EU supports the Arab initiative to solve the 14-month-old political impasse in Lebanon.

 

The three-point plan calls for the election of the commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces, General Michel Suleiman, as president, the formation of a national unity government, and the drafting of a new electoral law before the next parliamentary elections.

 

“The EU is supporting the Arab initiative, as it includes the conditions for free and fair presidential elections, and it is a road map for the Lebanese to reach consensus and revive constitutional institutions that support Lebanon”s sovereignty and independence,” he told Saudi Arabia”s Okaz newspaper.

 

“We are following from Brussels the developments in Lebanon and are expecting positive developments after the visit of Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa,” he added. Solana also stressed that the EU was working to preserve peace and stability in Lebanon through its active participation in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.