US ambassador meets Berri after 'Anjar to Awkar' remarks

U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa met Monday with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi and Speaker Nabih Berri.

Speaking from Bkerke before heading to Ain el-Tineh, Issa said he respects Berri who "is doing what he can for Lebanon".

He said he will see when he meets him today what he meant by comments published in an-Nahar, in which he hinted, according to sources who quoted him, that the decision-making in Lebanon is made in the U.S. Embassy in Awkar.

Berri was quoted by his visitors as saying that Lebanon has moved from Syrian interference to American interference. "Have we shifted from Anjar to Awkar?" Berri had reportedly asked his visitors.

A ministerial source told an-Nahar that President Joseph Aoun cannot meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu without Berri's political cover, given Hezbollah's fierce opposition, as a Shiite blessing is needed.

Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem said Monday that he only supports "indirect diplomacy" as he lashed out again at Lebanon's plan for direct talks with Israel.

Before meeting Berri, Issa said that Aoun's visit to the U.S. will give Lebanon the opportunity to voice its demands, most notably the end of the Israeli occupation of a "buffer zone" in south Lebanon, south of the Litani river.