Muallem: Situation Could Get Worse if Lebanon Remains Without Cabinet
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem has warned that the security situation in Lebanon could worsen if a national unity cabinet wasn”t quickly formed.
He said there were "extremist movements" which did not want to see a stable Lebanon.
Muallem told the TV station that "Syria”s hand was stretched to anyone who wanted to become (Damascus”) friend."
About recent remarks by Syrian officials, including President Bashar Assad, that Damascus wanted to establish diplomatic relations with Beirut, Muallem said: "Syria has been fully ready since 2005 to establish diplomatic ties with Lebanon."
He said Premier-designate Fouad Saniora could visit Syria "if he was the prime minister of a national unity cabinet."
Muallem also said it was in Lebanon”s interest that a government be formed quickly, denying any direct or indirect Syrian interference in the cabinet formation process.
When asked about Lebanese detainees in Syrian jails, Muallem neither denied nor confirmed, saying "I don”t have specific information on this issue."
"Many of those who disappeared remained in Lebanon. Leaders of militias that participated in the civil war should be asked about" the disappeared, the Syrian FM said.