Hariri Meets Biden, Vows to Fight Hizbullah 'Extremism'
Ex-PM Saad Hariri held talks Friday with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden in Washington and noted that his Mustaqbal movement is fighting the “extremism” of Hizbullah and other groups.
A statement issued by Hariri's office said the White House meeting focused on the situation in Lebanon and the latest developments in the region, “particularly what is happening in Syria, Iraq and Yemen."
“We are fighting the various forces of extremism whether Hizbullah or al-Qaida, because our project is based on building the state and supporting moderation that is contrary to the policies of chaos that the party is building,” Hariri had earlier told al-Mustaqbal officials during a meeting in Washington.
He accused Hizbullah of paralyzing Lebanon's political life.
Hariri stressed that Mustaqbal's dialogue with Hizbullah, which was launched under Speaker Nabih Berri's sponsorship in December, helps reduce Sunni-Shiite tension in the country and “constitutes a safety valve for all the Lebanese who are afraid of civil war.”
“It is impossible to agree with Hizbullah’s policies inside Lebanon or abroad,” he said, adding “we are against what Hizbullah is doing in Syria, Iraq, Yemen but this does not stop us from working as much as we can to protect Lebanon.”
Concerning the barrage of Hizbullah criticism directed at Saudi Arabia over its airstrike campaign targeting Yemen's Shiite Huthi rebels, Hariri said: “The violent rhetoric and screams that you hear are nothing but words caused by the decisive storm in the face of the Huthis’ coup against the constitutional legitimacy in Yemen with the support of Iran.”
“They did not expect Saudi Arabia to take the initiative to save Yemen for the benefit of Arabism,” he told the Mustaqbal officials in reference to Hizbullah.
Since March 26, the Saudi-led coalition has been pounding the Huthis and allied fighters loyal to Yemen's ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
G.K./Y.R.
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