By KUNA,
Washington : Friends of Lebanon, who held a conference call at the ministerial level here, have expressed full support for the Arab League initiative and called for immediate cessation of fighting in Lebanon.
“We welcome the Arab League initiative and its May 11 statement and intention to dispatch a delegation to Lebanon to lead a return to dialogue,” said the Friends of Lebanon in a statement made public by the State Department Monday.
After an emergency meeting for Arab foreign ministers in Cairo, a delegation that includes foreign ministers of Algeria, Bahrain, Djibouti, Jordan, Morocco, Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen is expected to start a crucial mission to resolve the crisis — led by the Qatari Prime Minister Hamid bin Jassim and Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa.
“We call for the immediate election of a president without prior conditions, the establishment of a national unity government, and the holding of general elections in conformity with an electoral law agreed upon by all parties, in accordance with the Arab League plan,” added the statement.
“We express our strong support for Lebanese constitutional institutions, in particular the government and Lebanese Armed Forces. We reaffirm our strong support for the sovereignty, political independence, stability, and unity of the Lebanese state,” affirmed the Friends of Lebanon, who met the last time in Kuwait on April 22.
Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice held a conference call Monday with her counterparts from Egypt, France, Germany, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Spain, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom in addition to Moussa and the Secretary General of the United Nations Ban Ki-Mooon to discuss the ongoing crisis in Lebanon.
“We remain deeply concerned by the situation in Lebanon, which threatens the stability of the country and the region. We are saddened by the loss of lives since May 7, and we express our condolences to the families of the victims and to the government and people of Lebanon,” agreed the Arab and international parties.
“We call for the immediate cessation of fighting, the withdrawal of gunmen from the streets, the unblocking of roads, and the reopening of Beirut International Airport,” concluded the statement.