Lavrov in Beirut in Biden”s Footsteps: Support Stability, Free and Transparent Polls
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is in Beirut in a show of support for the Lebanese president ahead of crucial parliamentary elections.
An official statement from the Russian embassy said Lavrov, who arrived in Beirut overnight, will express support for Lebanon”s stability and the efforts of the Lebanese authorities to hold free, fair and transparent parliamentary elections.
Lavrov on Monday will hold talks with President Michel Suleiman, Prime Minister Fouad Saniora and Speaker Nabih Berri.
The daily As Safir said on its front-page headline on Monday that Lavrov”s visit is aimed at examining the repercussions of "Hurricane Biden," a reference to U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden who was in Beirut last week.
Biden”s visit, which also was a show of support for Suleiman, was seen by the opposition as meddling in Lebanese internal affairs.
"It appears that this visit is part of a U.S. bid to supervise the electoral campaign of a Lebanese party which feels threatened politically … in light of the expected outcome of the legislative vote," Hizbullah MP Hasan Fadlallah had said of Biden”s brief trip.
Lavrov will extend an invitation to Lebanon to participate in Russia”s planned international conference on the Middle East.
Russia announced in January its intention to stage a Middle East conference in the first half of this year, but the idea has not been received with enthusiasm in either Israel or its key ally, the United States.
Lavrov was in Damascus on Sunday where he briefed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Moscow”s wish to "organize a conference on the Middle East in order to discuss the peace process."
Syria”s news agency, SANA, said Assad responded that "the conference must be well-prepared" and "set out objectives as well as the positions of those parties concerned" in the Israeli-Arab conflict.