Mansour Makes Thinly Veiled Criticism of GCC 'Involvement' in Lebanon
Caretaker Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour criticized what he termed the involvement of certain states in Lebanon's internal affairs, saying Lebanon has been suffering from crises since its independence in 1943.
“Any meddling in the internal affairs of a state goes out of the proper context,” Mansour told An Nahar Kuwaiti daily in an interview published on Sunday.
“When the events took place in the region, Lebanon remained neutral and did not interfere,” he said when asked about a Gulf Cooperation Council announcement in June of measures against residents who are Hizbullah loyalists.
“What's happening in Lebanon now is an issue linked to the Lebanese,” he said. “The Lebanese dispute was not born today, there have been different political movements in Lebanon since the independence.”
Asked if the collapse of the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad would do great harm to Lebanon, Mansour shied away from responding.
“Syria is the heart of the Orient and any harm done to its security, stability and unity would have repercussions on the neighboring countries,” he said.
“Arab national security can't be fragmented,” he said, adding “we should preserve the sovereignty and security of each state and not just Syria.”
Mansour confirmed that he holds telephone conversations with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem “to exchange viewpoints.”
“We not only have normal ties with Syria, but history, geography and joint security bring us together,” he said.
On whether he thought there would be another civil war in Lebanon, Mansour told An Nahar: “No. Never. I think the Lebanese are aware to what happened in 1975 and are today more keen on their country despite what's happening in politics.”
“The Lebanese know that their interest lies in having a stable Lebanon,” he said. “Everyone is confronting any extremist act or any reckless action that contradict with tolerance and coexistence.”
Mansour is in Kuwait to participate in meetings in preparation for the Nov. 19-20 Arab-African Summit to which President Michel Suleiman will lead the Lebanese delegation.
He said he will discuss with several of his counterparts on the sidelines of the summit the situation in Lebanon and the region, in addition to Lebanese expatriates in Africa.
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