U.S. to Cooperate with Lebanese Government But Not With Hizbullah Ministers
Washington said the U.S. will cooperate with the Lebanese government but not with Hizbullah Cabinet ministers.
"There is no obstacle to cooperation with any official in the Lebanese government with the exception of Hizbullah," said Nicole Shampaine, the Director of the Department of State”s Near East Affairs Bureau Office for Egypt and the Levant.
In an interview published Friday by the daily As-Safir, Shampaine said Hizbullah”s new manifesto "put a higher priority on the issue of an Islamic state in Lebanon."
The new political document was "more an attempt to show force in the face of the United States and Israel," she believed.
Shampaine wondered whether the document "will help make progress towards peace and security in the region, including the people of Lebanon."
She renewed Washington”s support for Prime Minister Saad Hariri”s government, saying: "It”s totally up to him to decide where he wants to go and when he wants to go."
"We will not interfere in his (Hariri”s) visit to Damascus … Lebanon is an independent country," Shampaine stressed.