Embassies Seek Clarifications on Foreign Ministry's Summoning of Kaag
Western and European embassies have demanded clarifications about the circumstances and reasons that led to the summoning of U.N. Special for Lebanon Sigrid Kaag to the Foreign Ministry over a tweet related to U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, a media report said on Sunday.
Quoting European diplomatic sources, An Nahar newspaper said the embassies are yet to receive an answer to their questions.
According to the Central News Agency, the U.N. has rejected the move and expressed its dismay through a stricter statement that was issued in New York by U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq, which “condemned the violation of international resolutions” and warned against such Lebanese stances.
In the wake of remarks by President Michel Aoun that defended Hizbullah's arms as necessary to deter Israel, Kaag tweeted on February 13 that UNSCR 1701 is “vital for Lebanon's stability and security.”
“Resolution calls for disarmament (of) all armed groups. No arms outside control of state,” Kaag added.
Aoun had stressed that Hizbullah's weapons “do not contradict with the State,” noting that it is “more than guaranteed” that the party will not “turn its arms inwards.”
“As long as there is Israeli-occupied land and as long as the army is not strong enough to fight Israel, we sense that there is a need for the presence of the resistance's arms so that they complete the army's weapons,” Aoun told Egypt's CBC television on the eve of a visit to Cairo.
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