Armenian President Hails Suleiman, Says Security in Lebanon Linked to Middle East

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan praised on Saturday the efforts exerted by his counterpart Michel Suleiman locally and in the Middle East to boost peace and stability, stressing that Lebanon's security is linked to the situation in the region.

“Lebanon will advance,” Sargsyan told reporters in a joint press conference with Suleiman at the Baabda Palace.

The Armenian president said that talks with Suleiman were “fruitful,” pointing out that the two officials discuss improving the ties between the two countries.

“I discussed with Suleiman the importance of cooperation on international levels,” he told reporters.

Suleiman and the first lady, Wafaa, welcomed Sargsyan accompanied by his wife, Rita, at the Baabda Palace.

Concerning the situation in Damascus, Sargsyan expressed concern regarding the Syrian people, noting that that his country rejects “bloodshed and violence.”

“The crisis can be only solved through dialogue,” he added, hailing the mission of U.N. envoy Lakhdar Brahimi to promote stability in Syria.

For his part, Suleiman said that talks focused on the developments in the Arab world, stressing the importance of seeking a swift solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Asked about the March 14 alliance's decision to boycott the national dialogue session, which is set to be held on Thursday at the Baabda Palace, Suleiman said that “any decision to boycott the session is a democratic right.”

However, he said that “democracy indicates that we should all sit at one table and listen to what others' have to say.”

Suleiman and Sargsyan inked a number of agreements at the end of their meeting.

Sargsyan arrived in Beirut on Monday on a three-day official visit to meet senior Lebanese officials.

Following his meeting with Suleiman, the Armenian president headed to the Grand Serail where he met with the premier, who called for removing “all obstacles that are obstructing the development of Lebanese-Armenian bilateral ties.”

He stressed the importance of joint cooperation between the two countries, adding that Sargsyan's visit is a “sign of his keenness on these ties.”

For his part, Sargsyan noted that visits between officials from Armenia and Lebanon are important in developing bilateral relations.

He also hoped that Lebanon would be able to overcome the difficult regional situation.

Sargsyan will attend on Tuesday a lunch banquet in Ain el-Tineh, held in his honor by Berri, in the presence of lawmakers from both the March 14 and March 8 coalitions.

Berri had canceled a parliamentary session that was scheduled to be held on Tuesday during which Sargsyan was planned to address MPs.

The speaker instead invited lawmakers to attend the lunch banquet in honor of Sargysyan.

Berri explained that the invitation is “personal.”

Sharp differences surfaced recently between the March 14 coalition and Berri after the opposition accused the speaker of luring it to attend parliamentary sessions despite vows by the coalition to boycott all legislative activity.

The alliance rejected attending the session and another one planned to show solidarity with the Palestinian people against the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip.

The opposition decided to boycott parliamentary activities after the assassination of Internal Security Forces Intelligence Bureau chief Brig. Gen. Wissam al-Hasan in October.

The alliance accuses the Syrian regime of being behind the murder and blames Miqati's cabinet for covering the crime.

Later in the day, President Suleiman threw a dinner banquet in Sargsyan's honor at Baabda palace during which he shared with his host their concern over Syria's crisis, “as it affects all countries in the region”.

"We insist on adopting a self-disassociation approach towards Syria's events,” Suleiman said, encouraging talks and negotiations to reach an internal accord.

“We hope that the delegation heading to the country would be able to achieve a certain progress despite the difficulties,” he added.

Suleiman also addressed his Armenian counterpart, saying that his visit to Lebanon would further enrich accords and cooperation between both countries that “have a long shared history”.