Salam Vows to Suspend Cabinet Sessions if Ministers Discuss Arab Summit Stance

Prime Minister Tammam Salam stressed on Tuesday that Lebanon's stance at the Arab summit comes in harmony with the ministerial policy statement, threatening to suspend cabinet sessions if any party raised the matter at the upcoming meeting.

“Our stance falls in Lebanon's favor,” Salam's visitors quoted him as saying in comments published in al-Joumhouria newspaper.

The premier stressed that Lebanon will not interfere in any conflict in the region, in particular the war in the neighboring country Syria, after the cabinet vowed to abide by the dissociation policy.

Asked about the fate of his cabinet and the ministerial unity if Hizbullah discussed his stance at the Arab summit, Salam said: “Any kind of objection will compel him to suspend cabinet sessions immediately.”

The government is expected to convene on Wednesday ahead of the Easter holiday.

On Monday, Hizbullah Industry Minister Hussein al-Hajj Hassan slammed Salam's stances at the Arab summit, pointing out that the PM's remarks do not reflect the viewpoint of all Lebanese.

“We will raise this issue in the next cabinet session,” the minister announced.

Addressing the Arab League summit held in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Saturday night, Salam has said Lebanon supported any decision to preserve the territorial integrity of Yemen, reiterating the country's commitment to the dissociation policy and called for distancing Lebanon from the region's conflicts.

The two-day summit ended Sunday with a vow to defeat Iranian-backed Shiite Huthi rebels in Yemen and the formal unveiling of plans to form a joint Arab intervention force.

A Saudi-led coalition began bombing Yemen last week, saying it was targeting the rebels and their allies.

Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah unleashed a tirade against Saudi Arabia after the offensive over its intervention in Yemen, calling it "surprising and painful," and suggesting Riyadh would suffer a "humiliating defeat" if it didn't resolve the conflict through negotiations.

But the March 14 alliance backed the Saudi campaign.

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