Wednesday 19 January 2011

Sayyed Nasrallah Tackles Lebanon Crisis with Turkey, Qatar FMs

19/01/2011 Events accelerate in Lebanon, with no settlement is likely to be announced, at least in this period. On the contrary, March 14, along with its “international” allies appear to be sticking to their position, faced by the opposition’s persistence to challenge the international conspiracy which is targeting the resistance through the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL).

Late Tuesday, Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Narallah received l Turkish and Qatari foreign ministers, as part of efforts to mediate the political crisis in Lebanon.

In a statement released by Hezbollah’s Media Relations, Sayyed Nasrallah met Turkish FM Ahmet Davutoglu and Qatari FM Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem bin Jaber al-Thani.

The talks focused on finding a solution to the deepening political crisis in Lebanon that many fear could spiral into sectarian violence.

"The meeting addressed the current political crisis in Lebanon, notably the issue of the international tribunal and the new government," the statement said referring to STL probing the 2005 assasination of former Premier Rafiq Hariri.

Turkish and Qatari FMs arrived in Beirut on Tuesday in a bid to find a solution to the Lebanon crisis.
Before meeting Saayed Nasrallah, they met President Michel Suleiman, Berri and PM Hariri.

Sources close to Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told the Lebanese daily As-Safir that the Syrian-Saudi initiative has failed in its previous wording and that discussions are currently being held in order to agree on an amended version.

SAUDI ARABIA ABONDONS MEDIATION EFFORTS

These Qatari-Turkish efforts came at a time Saudi Arabia has abandoned initiative seeking a solution to the current crisis.

On Wednesday Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said his country has abandoned mediation efforts in Lebanon, describing the situation there as dangerous.

In an interview with Al-Arabiya, faisal said that Saudi King Abdullah and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had been in contact "with commitment to end the whole Lebanon problem."
But “When that did not happen, the custodian of the two holy mosques said he was pulling his hand out" from the effort, faisal continued.

Faisal described the situation in Lebanon as "dangerous" and expressed fears of division in the multi-confessional nation.
"If the situation reaches full separation and (regional) partition, this means the end of Lebanon as a state that has this model of peaceful cohabitation between (different) religions and ethnicities," he added.

“STOP SEDITION”

For his part, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned also on Wednesday Israel, the United States and some European nations to stop their "sedition" in Lebanon or the people there would chop their hands.

Addressing cheering crowds in the city of Yazd in a speech broadcast live on state television, Ahmadinejad said: “Stop your interference. If you don't stop your sedition (in Lebanon), then the Lebanese nation and regional countries will cut your nasty, plotting hand.”
"You are on a rough downhill path that will take you into a deep valley and your actions show that your decline is on a fast track… With these actions, you are damaging your reputation," he added reffering to Israel, US and European countries.

LEBANESE NEWSPAPERS

Furthermore, an opposition source told As-Safir that the set of conditions needed for any settlement has changed and that the trade-off rule that had been applied before the indictment with regard to the demands voiced by Prime Minister Saad Hariri and the opposition respectively is no longer valid.
The source said that the opposition will keep an eye on developments in the next few days and that it has prepared a series of measures to come up with the appropriate and timely response to every development.

Meanwhile, Speaker Nabih Berri said that March 14 camp missed a chance that could have created a better atmosphere for the upcoming consultations to name a new premier.
Berri told An-Nahar daily that he informed the Qatari and Turkish envoys following his meeting with them that “the other side has squandered a golden opportunity that would have ended this crisis and led us to a better atmosphere for the parliamentary consultations.”

Local media said the twoofficials are expected to meet on Wednesday with Lebanese politicians from all figures. A meeting with Democratic Gathering bloc leader MP Walid Jumblat is also on their agenda.

The daily Al-Akhbar’s Wednesday edition, quoted Jumblatt as saying the current political situation in the country is “very bad and no one should hold him responsible.”
He also said that he was coordinating with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on matters related to the country’s impasse.

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Saad Hariri is not getting Hezbollah's hint: 'What was possible before the 'indictments' is alas not in the offing today!

The price asked by Hezbollah today is much higher, almost impossible even for a contortionist like Hariri to accept ... Hariri, who informed the Turkish & Qatari foreign ministers that he is 'all-for-the-SS' (albeit with a long laundry list of his own), got a prompt & stern reply from Nadrallah (and Berri) that 'whatever was good before the indictments is null and void at this stage.'These facts prompted Jumblatt (known henceforth at the 'collaborationist' by his former ally, Elliott Abrams) to say that 'the atmosphere is rife with trouble' ... Some visitors of the Syrian capital venture a guess, that due to the political fluidity,  the Syrians might actually prefer a Lebanon with a caretaker government who cannot be of much value to the STL ... Meawhile, a lot of this ......
 
Posted by G, Z, or B at 8:40 PM
River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian

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