Michel Suleiman
Photo: Reuters
WASHINGTON – Lebanese President Michel Suleiman spoke before the UN General Assembly Friday and said any future Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement cannot
exclude Palestinian refugees living in other Arab countries.
Suleiman urged the international community to impose a solution on Israel and
said that Beirut's military will "adamantly defend the nation" on the Israeli-Lebanese border.
"Lebanon will not accept any solution which will see refugees remain on its soil, mainly because it has perilous implications on security," he said.
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The Lebanese leader did not mention Syria or Hezbollah in his UN speech at all, and said Israel's "inflexibility, territorial ambitions and settlement policies" were solely to blame for all failed peace efforts.
He also slammed Israel for its refusal to join the nuclear non proliferation treaty and allow an IAEA inspection of its nuclear facilities.
Lebanon, he said, "Welcomes the growing international awareness for the urgent need to resolve the Mideast problem, and the Palestinian issue in its heart.
"Past experience in the region has proven that it is impossible to reach any kind of permanent agreement in the Middle East without striking a comprehensive and just solution to all aspects," he said.
He urged steadfast action by the international community in order to see the process through.
Any peace agreement, he explained, must stem from conditions stipulated in the 1991 Madrid Summit and the Arab Peace Initiative, "Which thwart any procrastination in resolving the problem of Palestinian refugees."
This crucial issue, he warned, cannot be solved only through Israeli-Palestinian negotiations "in a manner ignoring Lebanon and other hosting countries."
Once commander and chief of the Lebanese Army, Suleiman said his country was "making an effort to prevent external aggression by compelling Israel to apply UN Resolution 1701 and using and every measure of deterrence in its disposal as part of its national deterrence strategy."
US support guaranteed
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton assured Lebanon that the US will continue to support its government and army despite fears in Congress that American assistance may be used against Israel.
State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said Clinton met with Suleiman Friday in New York to pledge backing for "Lebanon's sovereignty and governmental institutions, including the Lebanese military."
Clinton also called for Lebanon to cooperate with the UN mission on its border with Israel to avoid a recurrence of an August incident in which Lebanese troops fired on Israeli soldiers.
That shooting heightened US lawmakers' concerns that military aid might threaten Israel and led some to put a hold on $100 million in assistance.
AP contributed to this report
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