March 14 – Additional Steps Needed to Restore Lebanese Syrian Confidence
A March 14 delegation on Tuesday met with President Michel Sleiman in Baabda to discuss recent developments in Lebanon, particularly Lebanese-Syrian relations.
The recent decision to officially establish diplomatic ties with Syria, starting with an embassy exchange, was a victory for the “Lebanese independent movement,” the delegation announced after the meeting.
The delegation added that this accomplishment had come about under the rule of Sleiman and as a result of his efforts and the work of French mediators.
Additional steps are necessary to ensure the restoration of confidence between the two countries, especially in light of the hanging issues of border demarcation and Lebanese detainees in Syrian prisons, the delegation said.
The delegation also called for the full implementation of the decisions made in the 2006 national dialogue and for the control of Palestinian weapons outside the refugee camps, which it was “a Syrian issue par excellence.”
The March 14 delegation urged the president to intensify security measures on the Lebanese-Syrian border, as per the Doha Agreement and United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701.