Lebanon declares readiness to demarcate borders with Syria

Responding to a question during a meeting with a media delegation, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said yesterday: “France has provided us with maps of the border with Syria, and we are ready to demarcate the border whenever Syria decides to do so. The Lebanese committee is ready. We can establish one committee for maritime demarcation and another for land demarcation.” He added: “Relations with Syria are slow, but they are developing for the better, and we hope for all the best.”

Regarding negotiations with Israel, Aoun said: “We are facing an occupier of our land who targets us every day and holds prisoners from among our people. How can this be resolved except through negotiation?” He pointed out that “when any army fights a battle and reaches a dead end, it then turns to the option of negotiation.”

He also announced that he had chosen Ambassador Simon Karam to head Lebanon’s delegation to the “Mechanism” committee, noting that Karam had previously served as ambassador to the United States and had participated in the earlier Madrid negotiations.

Regarding recent statements by the US envoy, Tom Barrack, Aoun affirmed that “they are rejected by all Lebanese.”

On the objections expressed by some MPs regarding the manner of maritime border demarcation with Cyprus, he explained that “in 2011, the government of Prime Minister Najib Mikati set the rules for demarcation, and what we did was to affirm these rules. We consulted the Legislation and Consultations Commission on whether this treaty needed to be submitted to Parliament, and the answer was no.”

In response to a question, he clarified that “the first visit by His Holiness the Pope since my election six months ago, as well as the visit by members of the Security Council, which coincided with the step of appointing a civilian to the ‘Mechanism’ committee, are all positive signals.”

Asked about settling diplomatic relations with Libya following the release of Hannibal Gaddafi, President Aoun said that “the issue of the disappearance of Imam Musa al-Sadr must be resolved. This is a matter of right, and the Lebanese have the right to know his fate and that of his two companions.”

Regarding US assistance to the Lebanese army, he explained that “there are several assistance programs,” adding: “What is noteworthy is that, for the first time, a formal decision mentions the necessity of assisting the Lebanese army. This is a positive and fundamental matter for us.”

In response to a question, he denied the accuracy of claims by a group of Hezbollah MPs that he had given the party a commitment before the session that elected him president regarding a defense strategy with no reference to disarmament. He also rejected media reports about the existence of a signed document by him to that effect, saying: “Let them publish it now if it exists.”

A-H 

ANHA