Lebanese people’s hope revived after parl. elected president : Former FM

Mehr news agency’s correspondent conducted an interview with former Lebanese Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour regarding the election of president and formation of the government of this Arab country.

A summary of the interview including the questions and and the Lebanese official’s answers are as follows:

Q: What is your assessment on feedback of foreign countries, especially Western governments and Persian Gulf littoral states to the election of the president in Lebanon? How do you see Lebanon’s future role in the regional political game and the US strategy?

A: Lebanon has always been at the focal attention of foreign countries especially the United States, Western Europe, and the Persian Gulf littoral states, and they have always tried to facilitate the process of electing a president in this country, because Lebanon has strong relations with friendly and brotherly governments.

This is while the Zionist aggression against Lebanon, which started a year ago, continues in various forms. After signing the ceasefire and the political vacuum that had been created regarding reaching a solution to elect a president in this country, and after the mediation of Arab and non-Arab countries in the process of electing a president, election of the president finally happened.

Q: How do you assess the nature of the new balances in the region after the fall of government of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad?

A: Lebanon is an inseparable part of the region in security, political and economic terms. Lebanon is not separated from the developments in the region and policies of the West, which aim to strengthen its influence and gain privileges in the region and consolidate its economic, political, security and strategic interests.

There is no doubt that attention of the West and Arab countries to Lebanon is not new, so that Lebanon has been at the focal attention of the Western countries and the Arab world but the events took place in Syria caused Western and Arab countries to lean towards Lebanon in order to take control of the situation. Therefore, after a long period of stagnation and political vacuum in Lebanon, Lebanese Parliament finally elected Joseph Aoun as president.

Accordingly, it can be said that the regime change in Syria has a direct impact on the entire region and regional governments, causing many countries to try to take control of the situation. The way of interaction with the developments in Syria also lies in line with serving regional interests, and the situation in Lebanon is also part of this process.

Q: The election of Joseph Aoun as Lebanese President has revived the hopes of some Lebanese for lifting of the US sanctions imposed on this Arab country. Can this hope become reality?

A: There is no doubt that election of Joseph Aoun as president, after several years of presidential vacuum, has revived the hopes of many Lebanese. The fact is that Lebanon has been facing economic, livelihood, and financial challenges since 2018, losing about 90 percent of its domestic currency value. In addition, presence of more than two million Syrian refugees has imposed a heavy burden on a small country like Lebanon. Under such circumstances, the election of Joseph Aoun has raised hope of many Lebanese who believe that he can be influential in the process of rebuilding Lebanon in various fields, especially after the devastating war of the Zionist regime that caused several billion dollars in damage to the country.

Q: Given Joseph Aoun’s speech at the inauguration ceremony, how do you evaluate the first cabinet of Aoun’s presidency?

A: The new Lebanese government has great missions and also burden heavy responsibilities in terms of economy, politics, livelihood and culture. They must rebuild the structure of the government, and this was something that was also emphasized in Joseph Aoun’s speech. In his inauguration ceremony, Aoun pointed out sensitive issues that the Lebanese people are suffering from and that he must resolve these problems.

Naturally, the problem will be solved with the solidarity, unity and amity and cooperation of Lebanese people. This heavy responsibility does not rest solely with the president, but there must be complete coordination between the constitutional institutions and the three branches of government including executive, legislative and judiciary branches.

Lebanon must strengthen its diplomatic activities in this area at the regional, Arab and international levels and engage in active diplomacy.

Q: It could be said that the relations between Lebanon and Syria will be fraught with many complications in future. Can we witness the breakthrough in this arena and/or will the interests of the United States and Israel continue to cause challenges between the two sides?

A: Lebanon is an integral part of the region and its security, peace and stability are influential in the region. Lebanon has historical, geographical, economic and security relations with Syria, and given that the border of the occupied territories is closed to Lebanon, Lebanon’s only land border is with Syria. Accordingly, Syria is a vital lifeline for Lebanese trade, and Lebanese exports that enter Arab countries such as Jordan and Iraq by land pass through Syria.

There are also many issues that need to be resolved in the future. The issue of Syrian refugees must also be resolved, as this issue has imposed a heavy and unbearable cost on Lebanon. Security arrangements between the two countries should also be taken into serious consideration and Lebanese borders should be closed to smugglers and elements that undermine the security of Syria and Lebanon.