Rice against 'compromises' with Lebanon's pro-Syrian opposition
SHANNON, Ireland (AFP) — US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Friday warned against diplomatic moves to solve Lebanon's serious political crisis by compromising with the country's pro-Syrian opposition.
"I think there is a lot of talk right now about compromise," she told journalists on a plane taking her to Ankara for talks with Turkish leaders on Kurdish rebels.
"There are a lot of discussions going on. That is fine," she added before a stopover in Ireland.
"But any candidate for president or any president needs to be committed to Lebanon's sovereignty and independence, needs to be committed to resolutions that Lebanon has signed on to ... and needs to be committed to carrying on the tribunal."
Rice was referring to the international UN-backed tribunal that was set up to prosecute those behind the murder of Rafiq Hariri, a five-time prime minister who was killed along with 22 others in a massive Beirut explosion in February 2005.
She did not name names, but her statement appeared to be a veiled reference to a meeting between Michel Aoun, a pro-Syrian former president who is the opposition standard-bearer in November 12 presidential elections, and Hariri's son Saad.
Aoun met Wednesday and Thursday in Paris with Lebanese parliament leader Hariri, the leader of the pro-government bloc, for their first talks since Lebanon's political crisis erupted in November last year.
The French foreign ministry said it was not involved in the talks but stressed that France "supports all efforts aimed at encouraging dialogue between the different parties in Lebanon."
Fears are running high in Beirut that the standoff between the pro- and anti-Syrian camps could lead to two rival governments, a grim reminder of the end of Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war when two administrations battled it out.
Rice said she was going to discuss the issue with French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner in Turkey to send "the right message:
It is "that the March 14 majority should not be put in a position of having to accept either extra-constitutional measures or measures that would undermine the programme that they stand for."
More than one million people protested at Syria's influence in Lebanese politics during a Beirut rally on March 14, 2005, a month after Rafiq Hariri's assassination.
