Russia to Thwart U.N. Sanctions on Lebanon Should it Fail to Fund STL
Russia will likely veto any United Nations Security Council action against Lebanon should it fail to fund the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, reported the daily al-Liwaa on Saturday.
An informed source told the daily that Syrian and Iranian circles view Russia and China’s veto of a U.N. resolution against Syria’s deadly crackdown on protests earlier this week as a turning point in relations between them.
It explained: “Hizbullah and its allies have acquired information about the nature of the Russia-Iranian understanding, which is linked to a Russian rockets deal, as well as financial and oil agreements, given the western sanctions against the Syrian regime.”
“The situation in Lebanon has become, now more than ever, more linked to the situation in Syria, and therefore Hizbullah is seeking to demonstrate that failure to fund the STL will not lead to U.N. sanctions under chapter seven of its charter,” it added.
“Russia has repeatedly declared that it supports the tribunal, but it will thwart any Security Council action over Lebanon’s failure to fund it,” it continued.
Sides that support the funding have however voiced their disagreement over the party’s view of the matter, asserting that Prime Minister Najib Miqati was clear in committing to the funding in order to avoid sanctions and having Lebanon being labeled as a failed state.
Al-Liwaa reported that efforts are underway to withdraw this issue from media speculation in order to reach middle ground between Lebanon’s commitments over the STL and Hizbullah and the Free Patriotic Movement’s refusal to fund it.
Sources monitoring the situation ruled out the possibility that the government would be toppled in order for Hizbullah and the FPM to reach their goals, because its overthrow would allow their March 14 rivals to regain the governmental majority.
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