Mubarak Sees No Change in Syrian Policy, Abul Gheit Calls on Lebanese to Stop Looking Overseas
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak told French Prime Minister Francois Fillon that he sees no change in Syrian policy towards Lebanon, adding that Damascus would keep adopting the same stance.
The pan-Arab daily al-Hayat on Wednesday quoted sources as saying that Cairo has advised its Lebanese allies to wait till the Lebanese cabinet is formed prior to making any high level visit to Damascus.
The paper added Mubarak stressed to French President Nicolas Sarkozy that his country is not interfering in the formation of the government in Lebanon.
Mubarak, who is currently on a state visit to Paris, told his French host that he is "waiting to see how things would develop in Lebanon."
In another development, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said he believed the Lebanese will form a government satisfactory to all. He added that past experiences showed cabinet formation in Lebanon takes time, but indicated that there is currently a parliamentary majority that has the right to form a government.
"Lebanon”s society has a special situation that makes it incumbent upon all to have a Lebanese consensus," Abul Gheit said.
In an interview with al-Hayat on Wednesday, Abul Gheit said the Syrian-Lebanese relationship "has changed from what it used to be back in 2005-06. Today there are no Syrian forces on Lebanese territories, there is a Syrian and a Lebanese ambassador in each country; hence, the structural relationship has changed."
"Things have changed in 50 years from independence up to 2009. However, matters require two to three years to fully settle," the Egyptian foreign minister said.
Abul Gheit told al-Hayat that it is up to Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri to decide whether to visit Damascus.
"Following the formation of the government he could travel anywhere in the world as the legally elected prime minister of Lebanon," Abul Gheit said.
He called on all to lift their hands off Lebanon saying there are many external forces currently attempting to delve into Lebanese affairs adding "everyone (in Lebanon) must also stop looking overseas."
Abul Gheit said the case of the captured Hizbullah cell in Egypt would go to court at the right time soon. He affirmed that the Egyptian state would not back off and not accuse this cell.
He ruled out a “Lockerbie” type of settlement to the Hariri assassination case by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), saying: "The killer must be punished, Arab blood and spirit are not to be legalized, this was a crime against a prime minister of Lebanon, there should be a trial but there should also be conditions for not politicizing the case."
"The case should be carried out in a manner that secures Lebanese stability and consensus as much as possible.
"Those two guarantees are decisive in ensuring that Lebanon would overcome the trial”s ramifications. Anyways, we have to see when the indictment is made and whether it would have any internal consequences," the minister told his interviewer.
Abul Gheit described Egyptian-Syrian relations as calm, with no sharp collisions. "We have contacts and meet from time to time."
However, he ruled out any summit between Mubarak and Syrian President Bashar Assad, anytime soon. "I don”t see this happening in the near future," he said, adding that both sides have to agree on policies before they meet.