Zasypkin Says Syria Free to Seek Hizbullah's Help, Lebanon Stability Priority

Russian ambassador to Lebanon Alexander Zasypkin said on Wednesday that the Syrian regime has the right to decide whether Hizbullah should aid it or not, pointing out that his country is at an equal distance from the rival March 8 and 14 coalitions.

“Stability and security in Lebanon are our priorities,” Zaspykin said in an interview with al-Akhbar newspaper.

He stressed that Moscow supports the swift formation of the cabinet and carrying out the parliamentary elections.

“We have no differences with the March 8 or 14 alliances. We support the Baabda declaration and disassociating Lebanon from the crisis in Syria,” the diplomat noted.

He rejects reports saying that his country is meddling in Lebanon's affairs.

The Lebanese foes agreed during a national dialogue session in June 2012 to adopt the Baabda Declaration unanimously. It calls for Lebanon to disassociate itself from regional crises, most notably the one in Syria.

Concerning Hizbullah involvement in battles in the neighboring country Syria, Zasypkin said that the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad “decides who has the right to violate its sovereignty and whether it needs Hizbullah's help or not.”

“Some sides are focusing on Hizbullah's role in Syria and overlooking that others are sending fighters and arms from Lebanon to fight against the regime,” he stated.

On Tuesday, Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah defended his party's involvement in battles in Syria, saying: “‪We won't leave the Lebanese in Qusayr's countryside vulnerable to attacks and we will not hesitate to help them‬.”

He also announced that Hizbullah fighters are defending holy places in the area: “Armed groups are only hundreds of meters away from the Sayyeda Zainab shrine and Takfirist groups launched clear threats on the Internet that they will destroy the shrine should they enter the area."

Hizbullah's involvement in Syria's spiraling conflict has been condemned by the Syrian opposition, which views it as a "declaration of war," and by the March 14 alliance in Lebanon.

Much of the heaviest fighting has raged near the Lebanese border around al-Qusayr.

Since it began in March 2011, Syria's conflict has fueled local tensions between the communities in Lebanon, with bouts of street fighting and kidnappings.

Hizbullah had previously denied taking part in the civil war. But top Hizbullah official Nabil Qaouq said Monday that his group is "performing a national duty" toward Lebanese Shiites living in Syrian border towns and villages by supporting the "popular committees."