Biden to Make “Historic” Visit to Beirut on Friday in “Support” of Suleiman
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden will visit Beirut on Friday in a show of support for President Michel Suleiman ahead of crucial elections that could see a U.S.-backed government ousted by a Hizbullah-led coalition, a Lebanese official said Tuesday.
Biden is expected to convey to Suleiman "a message of support" from President Barack Obama to "Lebanon”s president, government and people" as the country moves toward the June 7 polls, the official told The Associated Press.
"Vice President Biden will discuss with the president the Middle East peace process as well as bilateral relations," another official told Agence France Presse.
An Nahar daily said Wednesday that Biden will also meet with Premier Fouad Saniora and other top Lebanese officials.
Sources described Biden”s trip, which is set to last three hours, as "historic" because visits by top U.S. officials have been restricted to secretaries of state.
Biden”s visit comes less than a month after a similar trip by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.
The sources added that Biden will come to Beirut 11 days before U.S. President Barack Obama”s visit to Egypt where he will announce a peace plan for the region.
LBC TV network said Biden”s visit reflects "American and European concerns" about the possibility of the Hizbullah-led alliance winning the elections.
During a brief stop in Beirut on April 26, Clinton said after talks with Suleiman that the United States, which has reached out to Iran and Syria, never will make a deal with Syria that "sells out Lebanon."
U.S. officials have said they would review aid to Lebanon, including military assistance, depending on the composition of the next government.
The U.S. has provided $1 billion in aid since 2006, including $410 million in security assistance to the Lebanese military and the police.
In another development, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will visit Beirut on Monday as part of a tour to the region.
Lavrov will invite Lebanon to participate in the second peace conference to be held in Moscow. Pan-Arab daily al-Hayat said that Beirut has already informed Russia that it will take part in the meeting.