U.N. Sources: No Discussions on Non-cooperation of 4 Lebanese Ministers

The U.N. chief’s spokesman and other diplomats denied that Lebanese officials had discussed with Ban Ki-moon the issue of the non-cooperation of four caretaker ministers with Daniel Bellemare, the prosecutor of the international tribunal.

“I am not aware of any such contacts between Bellemare and the secretary-general either,” Ban’s spokesman, Martin Nesirky, told As Safir daily in remarks published Friday.

Lebanon’s U.N. envoy Nawaf Salam told the newspaper that “no one brought up the issue at the Security Council.”

“This is an internal issue and the Lebanese government is responsible for dealing with it,” Salam said after it was revealed that four ministers had refused to provide information requested by Bellemare.

The spokesman of the French delegation in New York also said that he was not aware of the issue. “It’s obvious that it hasn’t been officially discussed. However, it could have been discussed bilaterally behind the scenes.”

The newspaper quoted western diplomatic sources as saying that the Security Council’s agenda is packed with the developments in the Arab world, mainly Libya.

The sources ruled out the possibility of discussing Lebanon for now “unless something big happens.”