Fabius: Paris Backs Any Lebanese Government Out of Friendship between 2 Countries

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius stressed Monday that a planned visit by Lebanese Premier Najib Miqati hasn't been cancelled after reports that the trip was being reconsidered over French President Francois Hollande's “sudden” visit to Beirut.

“Miqati's visit to France is still on,” Fabius told An Nahar newspaper. “It's true that we didn't discuss it today (Sunday) but nothing has changed in the date at the end of this month.”

Asked about French support for the government, he said: “We support this cabinet the way we back any Lebanese government out of the friendship between the two countries and our respect for the democratic process that leads to the formation of any cabinet.”

“We don't interfere in Lebanon's internal affairs,” the minister stressed.

His remarks echoed similar views expressed by Hollande, who said at a joint press conference with President Michel Suleiman during his short visit to Beirut on Sunday, that it was not his role to say how the Lebanese would vote during the 2013 parliamentary elections or how the cabinet would be.

But he advised all parties that “could contribute to the stability of Lebanon to work through the spirit of dialogue.”

Hollande only met with Suleiman during his three-hour trip to Beirut.

Miqati's press office told Naharnet on Saturday that no date has been set yet to the PM's visit to Paris.

“There's no link between Miqati's visit to Paris and Hollande's visit to Beirut... They're completely separate events,” it pointed out.

The controversy on the prime minister's trip to France came as sources said a meeting held between Hollande and ex-PM Saad Hariri in Riyadh was a clear sign that the international community rejects a vacuum caused by the possible resignation of the cabinet without holding onto the current government of Miqati.

The March 14 opposition of which Hariri's al-Mustaqbal movement is a major component has been calling on the cabinet to resign following the Oct. 19 assassination of Internal Security Forces Intelligence Branch chief Wissam al-Hasan, which it blamed on Syria and its March 8 allies in Lebanon.