U.S. Delegation Sends Message to Syria With Beirut Visit
A visit by U.S. Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman and top Middle East officer at the U.S. National Security Council Daniel Shapiro to Beirut ahead of a trip to Damascus was a message to Syria that there is no change in the American position toward Syria.
It was also a message to Damascus that the fundamental ground rules of the U.S. administration were still valid.
The U.S. delegation met upon arrival Thursday evening with Mustaqbal Movement leader Saad Hariri, sending a clear message of support for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.
On Friday, Feltman and Shapiro met with Lebanese Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh and Prime Minister Fouad Saniora.
They are also scheduled to meet with President Michel Suleiman, Prime Minister Fouad Saniora, Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat, and other religious and political leaders, in addition to ex-Premier Najib Mikati.
The delegation will not be able to meet Nabih Berri as planned because the speaker is out of the country, unless he returns before Feltman and Shapiro leave for Washington.
Berri is currently in the Sultanate of Oman to take part in a Palestinian Aid Conference.
Feltman expressed joy over the launch of the international tribunal in The Hague on March 1. The court will try suspects in the 2005 assassination of Saad Hariri”s father, former Premier Rafik Hariri.
Feltman said his visit is "conveying a message" from President Barak Obama and the U.S. Administration, that Washington continues its "strong support" for Lebanon”s independence and sovereignty.