UN Security Council welcomes the Doha Agreement
The UN Security Council on Thursday welcomed the breakthrough deal reached by Lebanon”s majority and opposition blocs to end an 18-month political standoff and elect a new president.
The UN “welcomes and strongly supports the agreement reached by Lebanese leaders in Doha on May 21…, which constitutes an essential step towards the resolution of the current crisis… and the complete restoration of Lebanon”s unity, stability and independence.”
In a non-binding statement adopted by all its 15 members, the council also “welcomes the agreement to ban the use of weapons and violence as a means to settle disputes, irrespective of their nature and under any circumstances.”
It hailed the agreement between the western-backed majority and the Hezbollah-led opposition, backed by Syria and Iran, to elect a new president, establish a national-unity cabinet and address Lebanon”s electoral law.
The council reaffirmed “its strong support for the territorial integrity, sovereignty, unity and political independence of Lebanon within its internationally recognized borders and under the sole and exclusive authority of the government of Lebanon over all Lebanese territory.”
The statement also recalled previous Security Council resolutions calling for the dismantling and the disarming of all Lebanese and foreign militias.
Britain”s UN Ambassador John Sawers, the council chair this month, expressed hope that the Doha deal “will bring to an end a dispute that has being going on for far too long.”
He also hoped that “in the coming days, we will see implementation of this agreement and that the painstaking process of rebuilding Lebanese unity can begin.”
His French counterpart, Jean-Maurice Ripert, for his part, saw the deal as “a foundation upon which Lebanon and its national unity can be rebuilt and its sovereignty as well as territorial integrity reinforced.”
Under Arab League auspices, rival Lebanese leaders clinched a deal in the Qatari capital Doha Wednesday to end the political feud between government and opposition that exploded into deadly sectarian fighting earlier this month.
The Doha Agreement calls for the election of Army Commander General Michel Sleiman as Lebanon”s new president on Sunday, after months of stalemate, and the creation of a unity government. Parliamentary elections are due in 2009.