Washington Urges Holding Honest, Transparent, Free Elections For Lebanon
Washington urged various Lebanese parties to ensure free, fair and transparent legislative elections.
The U.S. stance was expressed by Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Alejandro Wolff, who referred to the upcoming parliamentary elections while addressing the U.N. Security Council Monday evening on the situation in the Middle East.
Wolff expressed U.S. support to an "independent Lebanese state that enjoys sovereignty and is far removed from any foreign interventions based on U.N. Security Council resolutions 1559,1680 and 1701.
Wolff expressed continued U.S. concern regarding the smuggling of arms into Lebanon in a clear violation of UNSC resolutions 1559 and 1701 an act that undermines state sovereignty and the exclusive right of the Lebanese armed forces in imposing the rule of law over Lebanon.
He went on to add that armed militias continue to bear arms in Lebanon in a manner that contradicts state authority and is contrary to U.N. resolutions.