By KUNA,
Beirut : French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Saturday called on the Lebanese parties to honor the Qatari-mediated conciliation accord and affirmed his current visit was aimed at demonstrating support for the country, particularly to President Michel Suleiman.
In a statement he made upon arrival at Rafic Al-Hariri Airport in southern Beirut, Sarkozy urged the camps of opponents and loyalists to honor the commitments they had made within framework of the Doha Accord, worked out on the 21st of last month, apparently alluding to the necessity of speeding up formation of a new government and recurring security incidents.
Sarkozy said his visit to the country was aimed at congratulating Suleiman on his election as president and demonstrating support for his leadership, noting that the ties binding Paris with Beirut “are stronger than ever.” It is about time that the Lebanese join hands, form a government and seek to shore up the national economy, he said, adding that the Lebanese could count on France for economic, cultural and moralistic support.
“I strongly believe in the joint destiny of the peoples of the Mediterranean,” said Sarkozy, mastermind of the establishment of a Union for the Mediterranean.
His remarks in this respect came after a conference was held in Algeria to discuss the French-proposed establishment of the regional bloc, including Israel. Lebanon and Syria boycotted the conference, apparently due to the notion that this would be tantamount to illict recognition of Israel.