Syria Proved It Does Not Intend To Control Lebanon
Change and Reform bloc leader MP Michel Aoun told An-Nahar newspaper on Saturday that Damascus made a decision on establishing diplomatic ties with Beirut that proved it does not intend to control Lebanon.
He said that his prospective visit to Syria was similar to General Charles De Gaulle’s visit to Germany. Aoun added that he told Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Mouallem that he will visit Damascus during the election of President Michel Sleiman and “I am keeping my promise now because peace deserves this visit.”
Aoun questioned the criticism of his prospective visit, and said his aim is to establish stability between both countries. He said that if some Christians objected, they were free to not vote for him during the parliamentary elections in 2009.
Aoun said, as an Eastern Christian, his visit was important because “Syria is the cradle of Christianity.”
He also said that the rule of President Bashar al-Assad differed than the rule of his late father Hafez al-Assad.
“I want to separate Christians from the March 14 alliance because it was mistaken,” he said.
On the Lebanese detainees in Syrian prisons issue, he said that the state tried to conceal this issue but possesses documents that reveal the prisoner’s fate. President Sleiman promised to solve this matter, Aoun said.
He hoped that the committees formed between both countries will define a mechanism to deal with this issue.
“I need to have authority to raise some issues, but I will express my opinion,” he said.