Report: Mustaqbal-Syria Ties Overtures ‘Probable, but Conditional’
A scenario weighing the possibility of “ties overtures” between Lebanon’s PM-designate Saad Hariri (of al-Mustaqbal Movement) and Syria seems “science fiction” to some, but those familiar with the regional shifts believe it has become “realistic,” and that the “zero hour is not far off,” al-Joumhouria daily reported on Wednesday.
Al-Mustaqbal circles meanwhile assured to the daily that “no possible opening to Damascus under the rule of President Bashar Assad unless it is preceded by a just and lasting political settlement that grants the Syrian people their rights and freedom, and recognizes the suffering they endured in the regime’s hands.”
They stressed that a “settlement must be sponsored by Arab and international guarantees that lead to the establishment of a democratic rule in Syria.”
“In light of the abnormal reality, openness or normalization between us (Lebanon) and Assad is mere illusion that some of the regime's allies seek for certain ends. Basically, the openness will be to Syria's state and people, not Syria's regime,” they stressed.
Al-Mustaqbal officials admit that Lebanon “needs” Damascus, and there “is no political stability unless relations are fostered by international law. There is no sound economy without the Syrian market, which is a gateway to other markets in the Middle East. There is no solution to the crisis of the displaced except by their return to Syria.”
But in return, Al-Mustaqbal is “keen to emphasize that normalization of relations between the two countries under Assad's long-standing approach to Syria, Lebanon and other Arab countries, does not mean accepting Syrian involvement with Lebanese officials the way it did before.”
"From a personal point of view, Hariri, along with many other Lebanese businessmen aspire to invest in the largest reconstruction process in Arab history, but this can only be done in accordance with sound rules and constants for the sake of which al-Mustaqbal and March 14 alliance has made great sacrifices to achieve,” they added.
Source: Naharnet
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/254859 |