Syria's Ambassador Says No Change in Balance of Power after Salam's Appointment

Syrian Ambassador Ali Abdul Karim Ali denied on Tuesday that there was a change in the balance of power after the resignation of the cabinet that was led by Hizbullah.

Following a visit to former Prime Minister Salim Hoss at his office in the Beirut neighborhood of Aisha Bakkar, Ali said: “We don't see any change in the balance of power.”

“We are keen on the best of ties between the two countries,” he said, less than a month after Prime Minister Najib Miqati's Hizbullah-led government resigned.

Beirut MP Tammam Salam, who is a moderate but leans towards the March 14 alliance, was over the weekend tasked by President Michel Suleiman with forming the new cabinet.

“We wish PM-designate Tammam Salam all the success and hope that the consensus on his nomination would be reflected on the formation of the cabinet in which all forces should be represented to guarantee Lebanon's stability,” the diplomat told reporters.

Hizbullah is a staunch supporter of the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad while the March 14 coalition backs the revolution against him.

Ali hoped that Salam would consolidate Lebanon to confront Israel's dangers particularly after the discovery of oil resources in Syria and Lebanon.

Asked about repeated Syrian shelling of Lebanese towns bordering Syria, the ambassador reiterated his accusation that the assaults are taking place from inside Lebanon.

“The attacks are taking place from Lebanon on Syria and not the other way around,” he said, adding “they are being carried out daily by gunmen (present) on Lebanese territories.”

The latest attacks took place after midnight Monday when three mortar shells hit the town al-Dbabiyeh in the northern district of Akkar, injuring a boy and causing damages to two houses.

Mortars and shells from the Syrian side regularly crash in Lebanon, causing several casualties. But Lebanese forces have never fired back despite promises of retaliation.