Bassil Says Not Targeting Certain Party, Donors Want to 'Naturalize' Syrians
Free Patriotic Movement chief and Foreign Minister announced Tuesday that his remarks on March 14 were not targeted against a certain party, as he accused the international donors anew of seeking to keep the Syrian refugees in Lebanon.
“My outcry on March 14 was not against a certain party, seeing as we also are part of the government,” Bassil said in an interview on LBCI television, after his remarks sparked a war of words with al-Mustaqbal Movement.
“What some considered to be escalation from my side was an expression of dismay over the start of the government's work. We gave ourselves a 100-day deadline to launch work and a month has passed and we need an extraordinary state of mobilization,” Bassil clarified.
As for thorny issue of refugees, Bassil said it is wrong to deal with the issue “from one angle.”
“We had called for a unified paper from the very beginning,” he added.
“We support the CEDRE conference resolutions, but we will endorse what is in Lebanon's interest,” Bassil went on to say, referring to a Lebanon support conference that was held in Paris.
As for the repatriation of Syrian refugees, the FPM chief acknowledged that a part of the Syrians cannot return due to “fear and circumstances.”
“But the other part is not returning because of the international aid they are getting here. That's why we are calling for a safe and dignified return and not a voluntary one, because they might stay here and the issue would turn into naturalization,” Bassil warned.
Asked whether Lebanon should talk to Damascus or Moscow, the FPM chief said Syria is “closer than Russia in this regard and it is better to talk directly to Syria.”
“We cannot be neutral regarding the issue of refugees,” he stressed.
As for Lebanon's relations with Iran and the Arab world, Bassil said Lebanon's interest should “dictate the foreign policy, whether in the refugee file or other issues.”
“Lebanon's interest is to remain an Arab country. Iran supported Lebanon in its war against Israel and Lebanon should decide on its cooperation with Iran and Saudi Arabia according to its interests,” the FPM chief explained.
“Lebanon should be a country of rapprochement and not an arena for conflict,” Bassil emphasized.
Asked about his tense ties with Gulf countries and his stances at Arab meetings, the foreign minister reminded that he once said that “our national unity is more important than Arab or international consensus, because this is what would preserve our country.”
“Some countries will get used to us dealing with them according to our interest and not the interest of any other country,” Bassil added.
As for the U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's upcoming visit to Lebanon, Bassil said Hizbullah is “not a terrorist party and I will say this to the Americans.”
“Lebanon's interest obliges us to say that one third of the Lebanese people are not terrorists,” he explained.
Asked whether he believes that Israel will wage a war against Lebanon in the near future, Bassil said: “Only a mad person would wage a war without guaranteeing its outcome. Israel can only create pressure through its claims about missiles and tunnels.”
“Lebanon is a country of peace, not a country of war. When war is imposed on it, it seeks to emerge victorious,” he added.
Source: Naharnet
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