Al-Assad Relieved, Lebanon Stresses Syria’s Stability

Arab, Turkey, US on Syria

Earlier Sunday, the Arab League made its first official statement on Syria, calling on Damascus to immediately stop what the league viewed its "violence that has raged since mid-March."

The Arab League Secretary General Nabil al-Arabi also urged an "impartial probe into the bloodshed," warning against "chaos and religious strife in Syria," as the statement said.

"Al-Binaa" paper noted that "the statement of the Gulf Cooperation Council provoked reactions of rejection and surprise for ignoring the criminal practices of the armed terrorists in Syria," pointing out that "it came after the UN Security Council's statement and a more negative copy of this statement."

The major Arab escalation pressure on Syria came parallel to a US-Turkey move in the same course:

Turkish Anatolia News Agency quoted Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan as saying that "he is sending his Foreign Minister to Syria on August 9th to hold necessary talks and deliver our messages in a firm way."

He added that "Turkey doesn't consider Syria as a foreign issue but as an internal issue as the two countries share 850-kilometer border, historical, cultural and familial ties."

Responding to the Turkish position, Syrian Presidential Political and Media Advisor Bouthina Shaaban stressed that "if the Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu is to deliver a firm message to Syria, he will hear a firmer reply regarding the Turkish stance which didn't condemn the brutal killing and crimes committed by the armed terrorist groups against the civilians, military and police members till now."
 
"If the Turkish government does not consider the issue of Syria as foreign matter due to the historic and cultural relations, Syria has always welcomed consultation among friends, but it categorically rejected all regional or international attempts of interference in its internal affairs," Shaaban added.
 
For its part, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Sunday asked Turkey's foreign minister to press Syria to "return its military forces to the barracks, during the Turkish minister's upcoming visit to Syria."

"She asked the foreign minister to reinforce these messages with the Syrian government. She also discussed American support for a transition to democracy in Syria," State Department spokesperson Mark Toner said
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In this context, "al-Akhbar" Lebanese newspaper quoted sources clarifying that "there is a Saudi- Turkish joint the events in Syria, which is interpreted by the sources that it may be a move in the Security Council, especially that Washington had spoken a few days ago about the need to have an Arab cover to the campaign against Damascus."

Mansour: Al-Assad Very Relieved

However, Lebanese Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour said on Monday that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad seemed very "relieved" over the developments in Syria.

"Assad is determined to continue his reforms and confront the militants that are disturbing the security situation," Mansour told "as-Safir" newspaper.

"He (al-Assad) informed us that the situation is starting to calm down, especially in Hama," Mansour unveiled adding that "the Syrian president asked about the maritime borders that Lebanon and "Israel" are currently having a dispute on."

Mansour who held talks with al-Assad in Damascus on Sunday was keen to inform that Lebanon "will not interfere in the Syrian internal affairs, and will support Syria's stability and security."

"Lebanon's stability is linked to Syria's stability," he added.

Stating that "Syria is steadily implementing reform," al-Assad confirmed that "the state is obligated to protect the lives and security of its citizens against outlaws who are blocking roads, closing down cities, and terrorizing the people."
Mansour also held talks with Syrian Vice President Walid Moallem who raised the issue of arms being smuggled to Syria via Lebanon.

Mansour said Moallem informed him that "Syria foiled 30 weapons smuggling attempts and arrested the smugglers," adding that "several arms caches had also been uncovered."

Ministerial Council:

Moving to the internal Lebanese scene, the government meets on Monday at the Grand Serail in a continuation of last week's meeting to discuss the remaining items on its agenda.

Last week, the government discussed 72 items.

"An-Nahar" newspaper said that "ministers received copies of a new 54 item agenda that will be discussed during a session at Baabda palace on Thursday. The meeting would be followed by an Iftar thrown by President Michel Suleiman in honor of political and religious officials from different sects."

In the same context, "al-Akhbar" newspaper quoted ministerial sources who informed that "the government's meeting that will be limited to the context of completing the agenda of the previous meeting, and will not deal with other files, such as appointments, or issues ministers might address from outside the table."

Meanwhile, Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai visited the southern port city of Sidon before moving to the Chouf region where he met President Michel Suleiman at Beiteddine Palace for talks that included the issue of reviving national dialogue.

A source at the church told "as-Safir" that "Suleiman and Rai mulled the possibility of turning national dialogue into a national dialogue conference that would include all the political figures and representatives of the Lebanese spectrum."

For his part, "National Struggle Front" Leader MP Walid Jumblatt returned Sunday to Beirut from a trip to Turkey where he met Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

Jumblatt told "as-Safir" that he discussed with Turkish officials the situation in Lebanon and the events in Syria, in addition to the Palestinian reconciliation.

Praising Turkey's position regarding these issues, Jumblatt said that "the Justice and Development Party has always stood and still stands firmly by the Arab cause and the Palestinian cause."
 
Separately, "an-Nahar" has learned that "judicial authorities have finalized a report to be submitted to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon before the Aug. 11 deadline. The report includes a detailed presentation of what Lebanese authorities and security services have accomplished with regards to the arrest of the so-called four suspects in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri."
 

Source: Newspapers