BEIRUT: Lebanon could never support a U.N. resolution that would allow the international community to intervene in resolving the crisis in neighboring Syria, for fear of negative repercussions this might have on Lebanon, An-Nahar reported Tuesday.
Quoting a Lebanon-based diplomatic source, the paper said Lebanon is tarrying on the issue of defining its position regarding a U.N. resolution on Syria, because the goal of taking the Syrian case to New York is to place the crisis in the hands of the international community. According to the source, regardless of whatever pressure it faces, the Lebanese government cannot support such an initiative due to its potential to upset domestic political equilibrium.
The source added that Lebanon will wait for the Security Council’s meeting on Syria to see whether or not any decisions made are in Lebanon’s interest.
“In any case, Lebanon is against any security solution in Syria," the source said, meaning that his country opposes the militarization of the conflict.
The U.N. Security Council will meet Tuesday to discuss a resolution that would condemn the Syrian government's deadly crackdown on protesters, although Russia has already signaled that it opposes the proposed text.
Moscow, a strong ally of Syria, said Monday that Damascus had agreed to hold informal talks with opposition representatives. But the head of the Syrian National Council said that the opposition rejects all talks with the Damascus regime until Assad steps down.
The Syrian unrest has split Lebanon’s political landscape into two rival camps: the Hezbollah-led March 8 alliance which supports President Bashar Assad’s government, and the opposition March 14 coalition which has shown solidarity with the anti-regime protesters.
Lebanon has maintained a policy of disassociation when it comes to the recent turmoil in Syria. In August of last year, when a U.N. Security Council statement condemned the violence in Syria, Lebanon publicly absolved itself of any association with the statement.
In the article published Tuesday, the diplomatic source said that Lebanon’s disassociation policy still stands, given that many countries, including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the U.S. and U.K., support such a stance.