West, Gulf Dissatisfied with Lebanon as High-Ranking Official Defends ‘Inevitable’ Decision

Western countries were disappointed while Gulf nations have expressed deep discontent over Lebanon’s stance from an Arab League decision on Syria, diplomatic sources said.

Western diplomatic sources told several newspapers in remarks published Tuesday that the Western disappointment lies in not only Lebanon’s vote against the suspension of Syria’s membership in the Arab League but also on the statement made by its delegate during the meeting of the Arab committee.

Rather than keeping itself away from the developments in Syria, Lebanon risked becoming isolated like Damascus over its rejection of the Arab League meeting, the sources said.

A Gulf diplomatic source also said that the Gulf Cooperation Council countries have expressed their deep discontent over Lebanon’s move.

The source expressed fear that “the mistake” would reflect negatively on Lebanon and its government if the cabinet did not take immediate steps to avoid the repercussions of the vote against the suspension of Syria from the 22-member Arab League.

The source also warned that the Lebanese stance would affect the country’s economic and financial interests.

Despite the stance of the Western and Gulf countries, a high-ranking official told As Safir daily that Lebanon’s decision was an “inevitable choice.”

The official said the rejection of the vote against Damascus came because Beirut would suffer from the biggest impact of the political and economic sanctions on Syria.