Satterfield in Beirut: U.S. Hopes Lebanon Choices Don’t Serve Foreign Parties
A top U.S. State Department official visiting Lebanon said Tuesday that the new government in Beirut needs to make tough decisions as it tackles widespread corruption and a crumbling economy, in addition to ongoing security issues.
David Satterfield, acting assistant secretary of the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, said Washington is looking to support the Lebanese people as they move their country forward, but warned against increased Iranian influence.
The eight-year war in neighboring Syria has deepened Lebanon's economic woes, which include high unemployment, meager growth and a soaring public debt of $85 billion, or 155 percent of the gross domestic product. Some 1 million Syrian refugees make up a quarter of Lebanon's population.
Lebanon's powerful armed group Hizbullah, which is backed by Iran, made significant gains in last year's parliamentary elections at the expense of the largest Sunni party headed by Prime Minister Saad Hariri.
Satterfield met with Hariri on Tuesday along with Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil and the leader of the Kataeb Party, MP Sami Gemayel.
The U.S. diplomat said Iran's growing influence in Lebanon required a national response, adding that "parties, notably Iran, are not passive, they're very active."
In January, Lebanese political factions agreed to form a new government after the country's first parliamentary elections in nine years.
The U.S. has expressed concerns about Hizbullah naming a health minister and two other posts in Lebanon's Cabinet and called on the new government to ensure the ministries' resources do not provide support to the organization.
Following talks with Bassil, Satterfield said the United States truly hopes that Lebanon will take positive decisions that solely serve its own interests and not that of foreign parties, according to the National News Agency.
He added that Lebanon now has a new government to take sensitive decisions related to the country’s economy, security and combating corruption,.
Satterfield had arrived in Beirut for talks with senior Lebanese officials and political party leaders, al-Joumhouria daily had reported.
His visit is the first by a U.S. diplomat of this level after the formation of Lebanon’s government.
The U.S. diplomat, the last in charge of the controversial maritime border file between Lebanon and Israel, is coming to Beirut this time after the Warsaw Conference that was dedicated to promote sanctions against Iran, an ally of Hizbullah.
His visit reportedly aims to pave the way for a future visit by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that is aimed at looking into the latest developments in Lebanon following the U.S. sanctions against Hizbullah, said al-Joumhouria.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, also arrived in Beirut late on Monday for a two-day visit during which he will hold talks with Lebanese officials on the issue of Syrian refugees. He is expected to visit Damascus afterwards.
Satterfield cautioned against giving the Lebanese public free and unfettered power to form the government of its choice, referring to Article 24 of the Lebanese Constitution which reserves half of its legislature's seats to Christians. "If God had wanted non-Christians to rule the world, he would have given them the atomic bomb," Satterfield noted, apparently unaware that China is a member of the nuclear club.