Miqati to Cabinet: Our Stance on Syria at Arab League Protects Our Stability

Prime Minister Najib Miqati reiterated Tuesday that “the stance recently taken by Lebanon at the Arab foreign ministers meeting on Syria is aimed first and last at protecting domestic stability in Lebanon.”

During a cabinet session he headed at the Grand Serail, Miqati stressed that “Lebanon will remain interactive with its Arab surrounding and part of the Arab world,” noting that “Lebanon’s vote at the Arab League stemmed from historical and geographic considerations that take into consideration the Lebanese sensitivities of which our Arab brother are aware.”

The Arab League's foreign ministers at a meeting in Cairo on Saturday voted 18-22 to suspend Syria with effect from November 16 over its failure to comply with an agreement to end its crackdown on protests, which according to the United Nations have left at 3,500 people dead since mid-March.

Lebanon, Syria and Yemen voted against the measure while Iraq abstained.

Miqati stressed in the cabinet meeting that Lebanon’s position was not aimed at rejecting the Arab call for Syria to end the violence and launch dialogue, “but rather to oppose the issue of suspending Syria’s membership in the Arab League, as the Lebanese policy … is against isolation, which punishes the (Syrian) people and makes dialogue impossible.”

Commenting on the remarks of a number of ministers who tackled the issue of Lebanon’s vote, Miqati briefed them about “the urgent deliberations that led to the Lebanese stance, which stemmed from keenness on Lebanon’s stability and civil pace, and not from any other considerations.”

“An in-depth discussion took place and several viewpoints were voiced over the issue,” said acting information minister Wael Abu Faour, who briefed reporters after the session.

“As a result of the deliberations, an agreement was reached among all ministers to put the Lebanese interest above all else concerning any decision that may be taken,” Abu Faour added.

Asked about Public Works and Transport Minister Ghazi Aridi’s ongoing boycott of cabinet sessions in protest over the budget allocated to his ministry by the cabinet, Abu Faour said “there will be a meeting soon between the minister, PM Miqati and the finance minister (Mohammed Safadi) aimed at finding a solution.”

Al-Liwaa newspaper reported Tuesday that the National Struggle Front ministers have expressed discontent for not being notified beforehand about Lebanon’s stance at the Arab League.