By News Agencies - 07/08/2006
Syrian President Bashar Assad has warned of worsening instability if a draft UN Security Council resolution on Lebanon is passed without the approval of all political forces in that country.
The government news agency said Assad told UN Secretary General Kofi Annan by telephone on Sunday that "any decision taken without a Lebanese consensus will complicate matters and deepen instability."
Annan phoned Assad to discuss the U.S.-French draft resolution, which Syria, a key backer of Hezbollah guerrillas, regards as one-sided and which the speaker of the Lebanese parliament has said is unacceptable.
"There are a number of powers that are trying to secure political gains for Israel that could not be achieved by waging war," Assad said.
The draft calls for a "full cessation of hostilities based upon ... the immediate cessation by Hezbollah of all attacks and the immediate cessation by Israel of all offensive military operations".
It implicitly gives Israel the right to pursue "defensive" military operations without demanding its immediate withdrawal from Lebanese territory it has been occupying since July 12, when Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers.
Rice: Important to get vote on UN resolution in coming days
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Sunday that it is important to get a vote on a draft United Nations resolution on a cease-fire in the Middle East in the next day or two to clear the way for a halt to large-scale violence in southern Lebanon.
Also Sunday, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State David Welch met with Yoram Turbowicz, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert`s Chief of Staff.
If that resolution can be quickly voted on, she told reporters, "I would hope that you would see very early on an end to large-scale violence."
Rice was speaking a day after the United States and France agreed on the draft resolution, which seeks a complete halt to fighting in Lebanon.
Rice on Sunday called the resolution a first step to stopping regional violence, but said it cannot solve the problems in Lebanon.
She said the Lebanese government must extend its authority into the south so the militant Islamic group Hezbollah does not have control. She said the international community must help Lebanese forces be successful.
"We`re trying to deal with a problem that has been festering and brewing in Lebanon now for years and years and years," Rice said. "And so it`s not going to be solved by one resolution in the Security Council."
Later Sunday, Israeli representatives presented Welch with their government`s stance regarding the U.S.-French UN draft resolution.
Policy sources in Jerusalem praised the proposal, which includes Israel`s primary demand that its troops remain in southern Lebanon to prevent Hezbollah militants from returning before the deployment of an international peacekeeping force.
U.S. National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley said Sunday that he would like to see a second resolution on setting up an international force for Lebanon in days, not weeks.
France pushes for Lebanese, Arab support of draft resolution
France has made it a top priority to win Lebanese and Arab world support for the UN draft resolution, the French foreign minister said Sunday.
"The most important thing for us is to obtain the agreement of the Lebanese government, [and] the Arab world," Philippe Douste-Blazy said on France-Info radio.
The U.S.-French draft`s central demand is a total halt in hostilities, with the militant Lebanese group Hezbollah stopping attacks and Israel ending all offensive military operations.
To be passed, the resolution must go before the full 15-nation UN Security Council and be approved by Israel and Lebanon - and initial signs from both sides indicated that would not be easy.
Lebanon`s parliament speaker said Sunday that Lebanon rejected the draft, as it ignores a seven-point plan put forward by Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora. The plan urges an immediate cease-fire, a mutual release of prisoners held by Israel and Hezbollah, and the IDF withdrawal from southern Lebanon. An international force would help Lebanon`s government take control of southern Lebanon.
"Everyone has taken note perfectly of the requests of the Lebanese premier," Douste-Blazy said. "France is very sensitive to Lebanese concerns."
Douste-Blazy added that he hoped there would be unanimous support for the resolution, saying: "We can`t continue to see the same fighting intensify as we are now."
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday called for an immediate end to hostilities in Lebanon in a phone conversation on the draft resolution with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the Kremlin said.
Putin`s press service said in a statement that the president "underlined the need for an immediate end to fighting in Lebanon, which already has claimed hundreds of lives and pushed the region to the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe."
"Both sides emphasized the importance of achieving a comprehensive settlement in the Middle East and the resumption of a peaceful political process," the Kremlin statement.
Germany: Resolution first step to ending the fighting
German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday called the draft resolution the first step in leading to an end to the fighting, saying it was clear the international community wants the fighting to end.
"This communication on a Middle East resolution is a strong indication of the international community of states message to both groups," her office said in a released statement.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier urged the UN proposal be adopted by the Security Council, but did not comment on Lebanon`s rejection.
"I hope the fact that the parties recognize that this resolution is an inherent chance for the final end of the conflict and accept the framework for a political agreement as drawn up by the resolution," he said in a statement.
"The suffering of innocent people on both sides must come to an end, now."
Syria: Truce plan `recipe to continue war`
The Syrian foreign minister declared earlier Sunday that the U.S.-French cease-fire plan was "a recipe for the continuation of the war."
Walid Moallem, on his first visit to Lebanon since Damascus ended a 29-year military presence in its smaller neighbor last year, also said an end to fighting required the full withdrawal of IDF troops before Hezbollah would stop fighting.
The former Syrian envoy to Washington also said his armed forces were under orders to respond immediately if Israel attacked.
"If Israel attacks Syria by any mean, on the ground, by air, our leadership ordered the armed forces to reply immediately," he said after emerging from a meeting with the pro-Syrian Lebanese president, Emile Lahoud.
Israel has issued several pledges not to attack Syria.
Also Sunday, Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa criticised the draft resolution on Lebanon, saying it had failed to call directly for an immediate cease-fire.
"The proposal calls for stopping hostile operations and not a ceasefire. This constitutes a defect in the Security Council, which should adopt a clear position toward military actions," Moussa said after meeting Syrian President Bashar Assad.
