Hale to be Appointed Mitchell”s Assistant as Obama Plans Sending Mideast Envoy to Lebanon
U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Hale will be appointed the assistant of Special Envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell, An Nahar daily reported Saturday.
Diplomatic sources also told the newspaper that Hale informed President Michel Suleiman on Friday about U.S. President Barack Obama”s intention to send "Senator George Mitchell to Lebanon to discuss in the issue of the comprehensive Middle East peace process."
On Saturday, Prime Minister Fouad Saniora discussed with Hale latest developments.
On the first day of his visit to Beirut, Hale met with Suleiman, MP Saad Hariri, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea and attended a dinner banquet thrown in his honor at the residence of MP Walid Jumblat. Hale”s accompanying delegation, Minister Ghazi Aridi, MP Marwan Hamadeh and Lawyer Dored Yaghi were also present.
The diplomatic sources told An Nahar that Hale”s visit to Baabda palace came as part of a trip made by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Beirut almost two weeks ago under the slogan of "supporting Lebanon in all areas and on all levels and stressing that there is no deal or compromise at the expense" of the country.
Suleiman, according to the sources, welcomed U.S. support for Lebanon, stressed on comprehensive peace and reiterated his rejection to naturalize Palestinians in Lebanon.
An Nahar said there is no change in the U.S. position from the Arab peace plan adopted in Beirut in 2002, including the right of Palestinians to return to their homeland.
Hale reassured Lebanese on Friday that any rapprochement between Washington and Damascus would not come at Beirut”s expense.
"As we expand our regional engagement here in the Middle East, I would like to emphasize that there will be no deals made at Lebanon”s expense with Syrians or others," he told reporters.
Hale said Washington would keep a close eye on the June 7 parliamentary elections.
"We will be watching the election process as it unfolds," he said, expressing "strong support for elections that are fair, free and held without violence or intimidation."