The State Department maintains that it considers Syria “an important country” for solving the civil war in Lebanon. State Department spokesman Dean Fischer said yesterday that the takeover by the Syrian army last weekend of two high mountain points in Lebanon was “a change in the status quo” but he refused to condemn Syria specifically. When asked what the United States position on Syria was, Fischer did not respond at the time.
Later, the Department issued a statement saying: “Syria is obviously an important country in this area of the world and she has a responsibility for helping to return peace to Lebanon.” Noting that the U.S. considers the situation in Lebanon “extremely complex,” the statement stressed that the U.S. wants “maximum restraint by all the parties in Lebanon, so as to end the violence and further political efforts for a solution.”
The statement reiterated that U.S. policy is aimed at strengthening the central government of Elias Sarkis throughout the country and “part of that goal is working towards having the Lebanese armed forces assume security functions throughout the country.”
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