MP Akram Chehayeb of the Democratic Gathering bloc said that the ministerial statement recognizes the Lebanese state as the only official player in the struggle with Israel, “especially since Hezbollah has agreed to the statement, which satisfies all factions.”
“The cabinet will obtain an important vote of confidence,” Chehayeb added in an interview with the Voice of Lebanon radio station Wednesday.
“The first step Lebanon and Syria must take is establishing diplomatic ties,” he told his interviewer. “This is our primary demand. But establishing normal relations requires a longer course, staring with demarcating and controlling the border and closing the file regarding the Lebanese missing and detained in Syria.”
MP Chehayeb also said that President Michel Sleiman has an important opinion concerning the appointments of security and military officials, “as he has been the army commander, and he played an important role in confronting Israel and fighting [Fatah al-Islam] during the Nahr al-Bared conflict” in the summer of 2007.