Resigned Minister Salloukh: The Arab Summit is a Major Turning Point

Source: NowLebanon, 19-03-2008
Resigned Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh said that the Arab Summit in Damascus will be a major turning point, and efforts at reconciliation will be blocked if an agreement between feuding parties is not reached.
He added that efforts are now focused on holding the presidential elections in Lebanon according to the "well-known basket" of conditions.
"Yet if the elections are not held, we must outline procedures that will lead to a solution within the framework of the Arab initiative, over which everyone has agreed," Salloukh told NOW Lebanon.
The resigned minister also said he did not have any information regarding an international conference on Lebanon being prepared by UN Special Envoy Terje Roed Larsen.
"We evaluate any effort to find a solution by its impartiality, and we consider all points of view. The only serious effort is the Arab initiative. I think that the parties nominated to participate in such a conference are either participating in the Arab Summit or supporting it, and therefore, I don't see the need to scatter efforts in opposite directions," Salloukh said.
Salloukh said he does not think it is appropriate to deal with the Lebanese situation through Security Council Resolution 1559, referring to Larsen's work.
"Resolution 1559 requires inter-Lebanese agreements on several matters, including the presidential elections and a basket solution," he added, also expressing fear that raising the matter of Resolution 1559 will render the situation more complicated.
"This is neither for Lebanon nor the UN resolutions' benefit," Salloukh said.
He reiterated Lebanon's support of the UNIFIL mission and said that reports about Italy and Spain's decision to withdraw their troops from Lebanon were published by the 'Israeli' media.
"This proves that 'Israel' is not content with the UNIFIL mission and the fact that the troops are witnessing 'Israeli' aggressions and violations of Lebanon's sovereignty," Salloukh added.