Special U.S. envoy Philip Habib and U.S. Ambassadors to the Middle East will meet at the State Department this week to discuss ways of convincing Syria to agree to withdraw its troops from Lebanon.
The meeting was disclosed by Nicholas Veliotes, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs while testifying last week before the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s subcommittee on Europe and the Middle East. Habib returned from the Mideast last week after an unsuccessful mission in which the Syrians refused to receive him in Damascus. Also meeting in Washington with State Department officials this week will be Lebanese Foreign Minister Elie Salem.
The agreement between Israel and Lebanon for Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon is “a major step toward peace and national reintegration for Lebanon, and, we hope, toward a wider process of reconciliation in the region,” Veliotes told the subcommittee. “It is therefore vital that Syria and the PLO also agree to withdraw their forces soon, so that Israel will withdraw and Lebanon will finally have a chance to bind its wounds and run its own affairs.”
Veliotes expressed disappointment that Syria has thus far opposed the agreement and not agreed to withdraw the 50,000 troops it now has in Lebanon. “Syria has stated publicly on several occasions in the past that it was willing to withdraw its forces when the government of Lebanon indicated they were no longer needed. The Arab League summit at Fez last fall also addressed the matter of Syrian withdrawal in light of Israel withdrawal. We hope that Syria on reflection, will meet this commitment.”
WARNS OF CONFRONTATION
Veliotes warned, “the danger of confrontation and renewed hostilities in this dangerous and volatile situation, by miscalculation or otherwise, must not be underestimated. No one’s interest would be served by new tragedy.”
The U.S. expects the multinational force to continue its role in Lebanon “in the near term” Veliotes stated, Lebanon’s request for expansion of the MNF “is still on the table, ” he said, “but all the troop contributors have agreed that no decision on the issue can be made until Israeli,Syrian and PLO withdrawals are underway. The Lebanon-Israel agreement, which deals with the situation in southern Lebanon, makes no reference to the MNF.”
Veliotes added that the “agreement does, however, envisage a continued role for UNIFIL (the United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon), the United Nations peacekeeping force, when the agreement is implemented. It foresees that the presence of UNIFIL will assist the government of Lebanon in reassuring Palestinian civilians located in the Sidon and Tyre areas in southern Lebanon of their safely. We believe this reassurance could be an inducement for the departure of PLO forces who remain in the northern and eastern parts of the country.”
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