Report: Lebanon Delegation to Islamic Summit to Confront Hizbullah, Nagorny Karabakh Issues

The Lebanese delegation to the Islamic conference taking place in Turkey this week is expected to confront attempts to label Hizbullah a terrorist group and recommendations to help Azerbaijan put the disputed Nagorny Karabakh region under its control.

The Lebanese delegation, led by Prime Minister Tammam Salam, will try to stop labeling Hizbullah a terrorist organization at the two-day Organization of Islamic Cooperation summit that takes place Thursday.

But diplomatic sources told al-Joumhouria daily published Wednesday that a new issue emerged on Tuesday when the Armenian Tashnag Party urged Salam to be cautious about Azerbaijan’s attempt to draw the OIC’s support for its claims of sovereignty on Nagorny Karabakh.

Tashnag Secretary-General MP Hagop Pakradounian visited Salam and discussed with him the matter, said the sources.

The premier promised him to carry out the necessary contacts with Lebanese officials participating in the preparatory meetings for the OIC summit to clarify Lebanon’s stance from the issue, they said.

Armenia-backed separatists seized control of Nagorny Karabakh, which is located inside Azerbaijan's territory but populated mainly by Armenians, in an early 1990s war that claimed some 30,000 lives.

It ended in 1994 with a ceasefire.

A Moscow-mediated truce went into effect on Tuesday after the worst outbreak of violence since the 1990s, but some clashes have continued.

The flare-up of recent weeks has left at least 92 people dead.

G.K.

D.A.