Report: Suleiman Insistent on Including Baabda Declaration in Policy Statement
President Michel Suleiman has emphasized to his visitors on Monday the need to include the Baabda Declaration in the new government's policy statement, reported the daily al-Joumhouria on Tuesday.
Widely informed sources told the daily that Suleiman will not, “under any circumstances,” accept the elimination of the Baabda Declaration from the statement.
He had relayed this message to Prime Minister Tammam Salam and head of the Loyalty to the Resistance bloc MP Mohammed Raad during separate meetings on Monday.
“The complications that the region is passing through as a result of the Syrian crisis obligates the Lebanese government to commit to the Declaration,” he explained to Salam.
For his part, Raad presented to the president Hizbullah's “reservations on the Declaration that are preventing the party from recognizing it in light of the developments in Syria and their impact on Lebanon.”
Suleiman responded however by highlighting how the Declaration helped outline Lebanon's foreign policy, which in turn brought about international support for the country on all levels.
This was demonstrated through the formation of the International Support Group for Lebanon in September 2013.
The president will not be lenient with the attempts to eliminate the Baabda Declaration from the ministerial statement and “this position will be demonstrated through his ministers during the session to discuss draft statement.”
The ministerial committee tasked with drafting the policy statement failed again on Monday to agree on a final proposal as the March 14 camp insisted on including the Baabda Declaration as a main clause.
The March 8 coalition was given 24 hours to consider the suggestion before the committee's meeting at 6:30 pm at the Grand Serail on Tuesday.
Foreign Minister and committee member Jebran Bassil told al-Joumhouria after Monday's meeting: “Attempts to include the Baabda Declaration in the statement will fail.”
The International Support Group was launched by United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon with Suleiman to help mobilize support and assistance for Lebanon’s stability, sovereignty and state institutions and to specifically to encourage assistance for the Lebanese army, Syrian refugees in Lebanon and host communities and government programs and public services impacted by the Syrian crisis.
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