Lebanon Asked to Reply to Demands Paper as Aoun Voices Reservations on 1559

Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Ahmed al-Nasser, who visited Lebanon over the weekend, demanded that Lebanese authorities respond to the paper of demands that he submitted before January 30, the date of an Arab foreign ministers meeting that will be held in Kuwait, media reports said.

“Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib is supposed to carry the response to the conferees,” al-Joumhouria newspaper quoted sources as saying.

President Michel Aoun meanwhile expressed to the Kuwaiti envoy his reservations over the mention of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1559 in the submitted paper, stressing that “the issue of Hizbullah’s arms and its regional role is not a local issue that has to do with Lebanon alone, but rather a regional and international issue,” Baabda sources told al-Akhbar newspaper.

“Arabs and the world must understand this matter,” the sources quoted Aoun as saying.

The President also emphasized “Lebanon’s keenness on the best relations with Arabs and the world,” noting that “all officials and authorities respect the Taef Accord and are keen on implementing it and abiding to the Arab and international resolutions.”

Aoun also told the Kuwaiti visitor that he would communicate with Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Najib Miqati in order to come up with a unified response to the paper.

The Kuwaiti minister said Sunday that he gave Lebanese authorities a list of suggested measures to be taken to ease a diplomatic rift with Gulf Arab countries. He added that he was "carrying a Kuwaiti, Gulf, Arab and international message containing measures and ideas to build confidence again with Lebanon."

Sheikh Ahmed added that in order for the initiative to be successful there should be no interference in the internal affairs of Arab countries in general, and specifically Gulf states. Lebanon should "not be used a launching pad for oral or active aggression against any country," he said.