Middle East

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21 May 2008
U.S. Welcomes Lebanon Agreement

By Merle D. Kellerhals Jr.
Staff Writer

Related:
 • Briefing on Lebanon and Other Middle East Issues

Washington -– The Arab League-led initiative to end violence in Lebanon and help advance a stable government with a new president after an 18-month stalemate is a welcome development, a senior U.S. diplomat says.

"And at the same time, the United States continues to support the legitimate authorities in Lebanon, including the government and its security establishment," says Ambassador David Welch, assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice also issued a brief statement saying that the agreement reached May 21 in Doha, Qatar, is a positive step toward resolving the current crisis. She thanked the leadership of the Arab League's committee of foreign ministers, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr Al-Thani and Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa.

At a State Department briefing May 21, Welch said the brokered agreement does three important things: it calls for the election of a new president as early as May 25, the formation of a new unity government and an electoral law that divides Lebanon into smaller-size districts to allow for greater representation.

Rice said the United States calls on all Lebanese leaders to implement this agreement in its entirety in accordance with the Arab League initiative and in conformance with U.N. Security Council resolutions.

The United States believes that the government and its legitimate security forces should extend their authority over all the country. "Now the next step is for it to be implemented," Welch said.

Welch said the United States supports the majority in this decision.

"You know it's not for us to decide how Lebanon does this, how Lebanon's political leadership addresses it," he said. "And the people of Lebanon will, when they do have a new parliamentary election in [2009], will have a chance to record their own views about this and other aspects of what their political leadership has done."

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