Zasypkin Meets Mansour, Praises Interception of Arms Shipment

Russian Ambassador to Lebanon Alexander Zasypkin hailed on Friday the Lebanese army for intercepting the armed shipment in its territorial water.

“We hope that the probe would reveal those who are behind this criminal attempt,” Zasypkin told reporters after a meeting with Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour.

Asked about Syrian ambassador Ali Abdul Karim Ali’s accusations against Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other countries of being behind the shipment, the ambassador said: “The Russian stance remains the same” concerns the issue.

“We consider this incident as an international matter. We will find a legal way to deal with it internationally, especially at the United Nations,” he said.

The Lebanese army intercepted last month the arms vessel Lutfallah II that contained three containers of arms off the northern coast and towed it to the port of Selaata and then to the navy base in Beirut.

The eleven-member crew – eight Syrians, two Egyptians and an Indian - and the ship’s agent were arrested.

Investigations revealed that no Lebanese national was involved in the case.

Concerning the coinciding visits of U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman and Iranian Vice President Mohammed Reza Rahimi to Beirut, Zasypkin stated that “it’s still early to talk about these two visits as we don’t know all their results.”

“I hope all the officials’ visits to Lebanon come in the country’s favor to safeguard its security and stability,” he noted.

Feltman arrived in Lebanon on Tuesday night, while Rahimi arrived on Wednesday.

Both officials held talks with senior Lebanese figures.

On the developments in Syria, Zasypkin rejected any military intervention in the country and arms smuggling.

U.N.-Arab countries envoy Kofi Annan’s six-point peace plan is the only way that we would be able to reach a ceasefire in Syria.

The plan calls for a halt to fighting, the withdrawal of heavy weapons from urban areas, a daily humanitarian ceasefire, media access, an inclusive political process, and the right to demonstrate as well as the release of detainees.

The violence in Syria has killed more than 11,000 people.