DAMASCUS, 24 November 2004 — President Bashar Al-Assad said yesterday that Syria is committed to the “unity and stability of Lebanon” and will put “all its resources behind helping” its smaller neighbor, a country it dominates politically.
Assad spoke as he received Lebanon’s new prime minister, Omar Karameh, a protege of Damascus chosen by Parliament last month after Rafiq Hariri resigned to protest legislators extending the mandate of another Syrian ally, President Emile Lahoud.
The meeting was dedicated to discussing the “means to reinforce the fraternal relations” between the two countries in the political, economic and social fields, and of “coordination” between the two countries in international meetings.
Assad spoke of “Syria’s affection for the unity and stability of Lebanon,” the official SANA news agency reported, affirming that his country would put “all of its resources behind helping” Lebanon. For his part, Karameh said that “Syria is an element of stability in Lebanon and the entire region.”
In remarks to the press, he thanked Syria for its “help and sacrifices for Lebanon,” asserting that “all Lebanese remain committed to a solid relationship with Syria.”
The two leaders were speaking amid heightened tension between the United States and Lebanon over Syria’s perceived interference in its neighbor’s affairs.
UN Security Council Resolution 1559, passed in September and co-sponsored by Washington, called for Lebanon’s independence to be respected, for Syria’s estimated 15,000 troops to be withdrawn and for Hezbollah to be disarmed.
