Bassil Calls for 'Political Independence,' Rejects 'Interference'
Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil asked on Friday for the assistance of the international community to prevent interference in Lebanon's internal affairs and hoped that the vacuum at the presidential palace would not persist.
Bassil addressed diplomats based in Lebanon, asking for “assistance not to meddle in its affairs but to stand by its residents and institutions.”
“Lebanon through its diversity cannot preserve itself without its independent decision-making,” he said in a speech on the occasion of Independence Day.
“Political independence does not mean isolation. It means interacting with its surroundings,” he told the diplomats.
Bassil also urged the ambassadors to help the Lebanese army in its fight against terrorism.
He stressed Lebanon has an “independent and effective diplomacy,” which allows it to take the right decisions.
He said Lebanon should not become a by-stander. “It should play - whenever it can - a role bigger than its size.”
“Lebanon should become a success story and not a failed state,” Bassil stressed.
He also said Lebanon should consolidate itself against “the axis of terrorism” and “hold onto its right of resistance.”
“It has the natural right to enjoy peace,” Bassil said.
“It is time for a solution and not a settlement. It is time to be independent,” he added.
On the presidential deadlock, the foreign minister hoped that the vacuum at the helm of the country's top Christian post would not persist.
“As we meet today on the occasion of Independence Day, the exception lies in not having a president among us,” he said.
Bassil described it as “derogatory” for not having a president chosen by the Lebanese.
Lebanon has been without a head of state since May when President Michel Suleiman's term ended without a successor.
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