Seniora Speaks Out as U.N. Coerces Beirut to Begin Hizbullah's Disarmament Dialogue
Premier Seniora says his recent talks with President Assad have rebased relations between Lebanon and Syria on a foundation of 'equality and mutual respect,' emphatically denying that they tackled the idea of a face-to-face meeting between the Syrian President and Saad Hariri, the majority leader of Lebanon's first Syria-free parliament.
"Relations are on state-to-state basis. No intermediaries and no Moukhabarat liaisons," Seniora said in an interview aired Saturday by the Arabiya TV network. "These relations go through genuine constitutional channels between the institutions of the two states."
Seniora denied that Syrian officials had complained to him about anti-Syria reporting in the Lebanese press and the Hariri media. "This issue has not been brought up during the talks, not the Lebanese media in general nor what is reported by Future-TV or Al Mustaqbal newspaper in particular," Seniora asserted.
It was his first comprehensive interview about his trip to Damascus Sunday, which Seniora undertook to ease the strain that prevailed between the two countries since Syria was forced to terminate its 3-decade tutelage over Lebanon last April in the quake-like aftermath of ex-Premier Hariri's assassination.
Seniora confirmed that the government was engaged in discussions with the United Nations about a mechanism to deploy the Lebanese army on the border with Israel, which had been proposed by Security Council resolution 1614 that extended UNIFIL's mandate in south Lebanon for 6 extra months as of August 1.
"But the ongoing discussion is addressing the issue from the angle of safeguarding the unity of the Lebanese amongst themselves," Seniora said. "This is an essential concept that we uphold while trying to seriously maintain our relationship with the international legitimacy."
The international legitimacy, however, rejects Lebanon's official contention that seems to have survived the collapse of Syria's hegemony and which argues that the Lebanese army would not be deployed en masse along the border with Israel before a comprehensive Middle East peace is in place.
An Nahar said Saturday U.N. representative Gere Pederson had asked President Lahoud and Premier Seniora in meetings held on Thursday for a specific date for an inter-Lebanese debate about Hizbullah's disarmament, how would the Lebanese authorities go about doing it and how long would the operation last.
"Relations are on state-to-state basis. No intermediaries and no Moukhabarat liaisons," Seniora said in an interview aired Saturday by the Arabiya TV network. "These relations go through genuine constitutional channels between the institutions of the two states."
Seniora denied that Syrian officials had complained to him about anti-Syria reporting in the Lebanese press and the Hariri media. "This issue has not been brought up during the talks, not the Lebanese media in general nor what is reported by Future-TV or Al Mustaqbal newspaper in particular," Seniora asserted.
It was his first comprehensive interview about his trip to Damascus Sunday, which Seniora undertook to ease the strain that prevailed between the two countries since Syria was forced to terminate its 3-decade tutelage over Lebanon last April in the quake-like aftermath of ex-Premier Hariri's assassination.
Seniora confirmed that the government was engaged in discussions with the United Nations about a mechanism to deploy the Lebanese army on the border with Israel, which had been proposed by Security Council resolution 1614 that extended UNIFIL's mandate in south Lebanon for 6 extra months as of August 1.
"But the ongoing discussion is addressing the issue from the angle of safeguarding the unity of the Lebanese amongst themselves," Seniora said. "This is an essential concept that we uphold while trying to seriously maintain our relationship with the international legitimacy."
The international legitimacy, however, rejects Lebanon's official contention that seems to have survived the collapse of Syria's hegemony and which argues that the Lebanese army would not be deployed en masse along the border with Israel before a comprehensive Middle East peace is in place.
An Nahar said Saturday U.N. representative Gere Pederson had asked President Lahoud and Premier Seniora in meetings held on Thursday for a specific date for an inter-Lebanese debate about Hizbullah's disarmament, how would the Lebanese authorities go about doing it and how long would the operation last.
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