Nasrallah Says Lebanon's Anti-Russia Statement 'Written at U.S. Embassy'
Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Tuesday lashed out at the United States and accused its embassy in Lebanon of being behind the Lebanese Foreign Ministry statement that condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“It is regrettable that the official Lebanese statement that was issued by the Lebanese Foreign Ministry had been sent to the U.S. embassy. The embassy modified it, which means that this statement was written at the U.S. embassy. Is this what sovereignty is all about?” Nasrallah said in a televised speech marking Hizbullah’s ‘Day of the Wounded’.
“Trusting the Americans is stupidity, foolishness and ignorance,” Nasrallah added, referring to Ukraine’s relation with Washington.
“I tell Lebanese officials, people and political parties that submitting to U.S. dictates will not rescue Lebanon but will rather increase its woes,” Nasrallah went on to say.
“The U.S. demands do not stop at any limit,” he said.
Turning to the issue of Lebanon’s support for a U.N. General Assembly resolution condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Nasrallah lamented that “Lebanon voted against Russia” although “it could have chosen to abstain.”
“Lebanon is supposed to tell the Americans that the Lebanese are not their slaves and this is what sovereignty calls for,” he added.
“Where is the dissociation policy that the government calls for? Why did neutrality advocates remain silent regarding the Lebanese statement?” Nasrallah asked.
He added that what happened at the U.N. “puts an end to the lie that Hizbullah is practicing hegemony over the Lebanese state's decisions.”
“What have the Lebanese officials obtained from the Americans who are only offering false promises? The U.S. State Department has not given Egypt and Jordan documents exempting them from the Caesar Act until the moment,” Nasrallah charged, referring to Washington’s announcement that it would help Lebanon with the importation of Egyptian gas and Jordanian electricity.
Moreover, Nasrallah reminded that, one year and a half ago, a Russian company had submitted a proposal to Lebanon for setting up an oil refinery “with Russian funding and without guarantees,” accusing the U.S. embassy of “preventing a Lebanese response to the Russian company’s offer.”
“The Americans are preventing Lebanon from leaning towards the Russian choice, without offering an alternative,” he charged.
He also noted that “if Hizbullah dominated the Lebanese state’s decisions,” the Russian proposal “would have been accepted a year and a half ago.”
“I call on Lebanese officials to accept the (Russian) proposal because lines have returned to gas stations,” Nasrallah added.
Source: Naharnet
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