Bassil Slams 'Outcry' over Saudi Move, Favors 'National Unity' over 'Arab Consensus'
Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil charged Monday that some domestic parties have taken advantage of the latest row with Saudi Arabia in order to attack their domestic rivals, while stressing that “national unity” is more important than “Arab consensus.”
“The ministerial Policy Statement dissociates Lebanon from the crises that are surrounding us and the communique that was issued by the cabinet today reflected this,” said Bassil at a press conference that followed a marathon cabinet session.
“Two days before the Arab League meeting, the Foreign Ministry condemned attacks against (Saudi) diplomatic missions (in Iran) and we voiced solidarity with Saudi Arabia,” he noted.
“After consulting with PM (Tammam) Salam, and out of our commitment to the (ministerial) Policy Statement, we wrote our stance in a signed letter and handed it to the Arab League and we objected against the mention of Hizbullah,” Bassil added.
Saudi Arabia decided last week to halt a $4 billion grant to the Lebanese army and security forces and to review its diplomatic relations with Lebanon. The stance came after Bassil declined to support Saudi-backed resolutions against Iran during two meetings of Arab and Muslim foreign ministers.
Bassil is the head of the Free Patriotic Movement, which is one of the strongest allies of the Iran-backed Hizbullah.
“Between Arab consensus and national unity, we side with national unity,” stressed Bassil on Monday.
“The injustice that we're facing is the price we're paying for creating an independent policy that neutralizes Lebanon,” he added.
He also claimed that there is a “political outcry to attack certain domestic parties” in the wake of Saudi Arabia's move.
“There will be a real problem if they (Arab countries) don't understand Lebanon and its internal unity and dissociation policy,” he added.
Earlier in the day, the Lebanese government issued a statement after strenuous discussions among its members, in which it underlined its “commitment to Arab consensus on the common issues."
Bassil's remarks drew a swift response from Prime Minister Tammam Salam, who issued a statement noting that “Lebanon's foreign policy, especially in terms of the relations with the brotherly Arab countries, was clearly and unambiguously defined in the statement that was issued after the cabinet's emergency meeting.”
“Today's cabinet statement was approved by all ministers, including Minister Bassil himself, and any deviation from this text is a personal stance that does not reflect Lebanon's official stance,” Salam added.
Y.R.
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