Top EU Official: Miqati Pledged to Fund STL
Prime Minister Najib Miqati and the ministers loyal to him have pledged to fund the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, a high-ranking European Union official said.
The managing director for the Middle East and Southern neighborhood of the European External Action Service, Hugues Mingarelli, told As Safir daily published Tuesday that Miqati and Ministers Mohammed Safadi and Nicolas Nahhas confirmed to him that Lebanon would make its contribution to the STL.
Mingarelli is on a two-day official visit to Beirut to renew an EU demand for Lebanon to respect all international resolutions and the implementation of reforms.
The Frenchmen delivered Miqati a message of support and lauded Lebanese personalities in the cabinet, saying the government includes “competent men that have good will,” said As Safir.
“We told PM Miqati that the EU would like Lebanon to respect the international commitments and Lebanese authorities to fund the tribunal,” he told the newspaper.
“Miqati and the minsters of finance and economy explained to us that Lebanon has the intention to fulfill its obligations including the funding of the tribunal,” Mingarelli said.
He denied that he discussed the presence of U.N. peacekeepers in the south but said that the extension of UNIFIL’s mandate is good for southern Lebanon.
“The Europeans will continue to send the necessary troops to the existing contingents,” he added.
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