BEIRUT: President Bashar Assad said stability in Lebanon has a positive effect on the situation in Syria, according to head of the Tawheed Party Wiam Wahhab, who met the embattled Syrian leader Wednesday in Damascus.
Upon his return to Beirut, Wahhab said that Assad "affirmed Syria's keenness on preserving stability in Lebanon given how crucial this stability is to the Syrian scene.”
Lebanese government officials as well as political analysts have warned that unrest in neighboring Syria could negatively affect Lebanon. Damascus has repeatedly urged Lebanon to prevent arms smuggling on the border, prompting Lebanon's Higher Defense Council to implement additional measures to control the poorly demarcated border and curb arms-smuggling.
As violence escalates in Syria, Lebanon has been divided on its response to the events, with the official stance of Prime Minister Najib Mikati being complete disassociation from decisions related to the ongoing anti-government protests.
On Tuesday, the U.N. Security Council discussed a resolution crafted by Western powers and the Arab League aimed at stopping the violent government crackdown on protesters. Russia has vowed to block such a resolution.
Wahhab also said that Assad stressed the need to preserve the presence of the Druze community in the Middle East, praising its patriotism and nationalism throughout history.
Assad added that Syria loves all its citizens without exception.
Leading Druze figure and head of the Progressive Socialist Party MP Walid Jumblatt has urged his fellow Druze in Syria not to join the Syrian army and police in the brutal crackdown on protesters. He has also said that scores of Druze soldiers in the Syrian army had returned to their parents in coffins as a result of battling fellow Syrian citizens.
Jumblatt has also broken ranks with Assad by calling on Russia and Iran to convince their ally, Syria, that a fundamental change in the regime is the only solution to the current unrest.