Bou Habib Tells Europeans Lebanon Won't Adopt Anti-Russia U.N. Resolution
The ambassadors of France and Germany to Lebanon on Friday met with Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib and thanked Lebanon for the statement it has issued on the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, the National News Agency said.
The two envoys hoped Lebanon will “maintain this stance” and requested “Lebanon’s participation in the adoption of the resolution submitted before the (U.N.) Security Council regarding the crisis,” NNA added.
Bou Habib for his part told the ambassadors that “Lebanon’s stance is firm and stems from its keenness on abiding by the principles of international legitimacy and international law.”
“International legitimacy and international law represent the main guarantee for protecting international peace and order and the territorial integrity of small countries, especially that Lebanon has greatly suffered from Israeli occupation and its continuous violations until this moment,” the Minister added.
He also told the two envoys that “Lebanon will refrain from taking part in the adoption of the resolution submitted before the Security Council,” adding that “the Lebanese stance as to voting in the General Assembly will be studied in consultation with the Arab bloc.”
“The Lebanese stance is not targeted against the Russian Federation nor against any other friendly nations; it is rather a principled and firm stance that Lebanon has taken and will always take during any similar crisis,” Bou Habib went on to say.
He also revealed that he had met with Russian Ambassador to Lebanon Alexander Rudakov prior to the statement’s issuance on Thursday to express regret that “Lebanon intends to issue a statement condemning the Russian military operation.”
“We stressed that this stance is not targeted against his country and that we don’t want it to affect the strong bilateral relation,” he added.
Source: Naharnet
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