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The United States Undersecretary of State, David Schenker, reiterated that “there is a slight difference between the vision of his administration and that of the French government”, considering that “Hezbollah is a terrorist organization and it happens that it participates in Lebanese politics and terrorizes many political parties in Lebanon, but it is a terrorist organization, and we do not agree with these views. With the French government ».
“We do not consider Hezbollah a legitimate political organization or a legitimate political party,” he said in a telephone interview with journalists. We believe that a choice must be made between bullet points or ballot boxes in democratic countries and it is not possible to combine the two. He noted that “no other names under discussion have been revealed and that more sanctions will be imposed.”
Although he made it clear that “he met with the adviser to President Nabih Berri, Ali Hamdan, but did not want to go into the details of the diplomatic talks,” he said, “we are progressing gradually and I hope to finalize this framework agreement so that the Lebanese pass with the Israelis at the stage of negotiating their borders. “
“This issue took a long time and it was a waste of time, unfortunately.”
On the issue of the head of the “Hamas” political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, in Beirut, Schenker said: “He is a terrorist included in terrorist lists and runs a terrorist organization. I do not believe that any country should grant you a visa or allow you to enter their territory. I find this has a negative impact on what the region is witnessing.
On Mustafa Adib’s mandate to form the new government, he noted: “Our policy is to focus on principle and not personality, so I will not comment on the designated Lebanese prime minister. We focus a lot on the concepts of reform and that any new government must adopt and implement reforms.
He added: “With regard to transparency, you must hold accountable those who were not transparent, those who were not responsible or the corrupt. Therefore, responsibility must be enforced. There must be a government dedicated to fighting corruption and they must respect the principle of self-distancing. Any government should remove Lebanon from the policies of the countries of the region. We hope to work with any government if it does all these things and does them.
Regarding his visit to Lebanon, Schenker said: “I conveyed a message to the Lebanese people that the United States is committed to helping the Lebanese people recover from the horrible fourth August explosion in the port of Beirut, and I supported their legitimate demands for economic and institutional reform, transparency and accountability, and an end to the rampant corruption that cripples Lebanese potential. ” .
“In Beirut, I met with a wide range of civil society leaders, including activists, representatives of non-governmental organizations, journalists, academics, and representatives who recently resigned. As you know, next month will see the passage of a year since the Lebanese began to take to the streets to express their demands for reform, demands that increased after the devastating explosion on August 4. The Lebanese people have expressed their desire for significant change and for their government and political leaders to adopt a new approach calling for reforms and fighting corruption to help Lebanon emerge from its current crisis. We support the Lebanese people at this difficult time and express our commitment to help them recover from the tragedy of August 4 ”.
He stressed that “it is not acceptable for things to continue as they are in Lebanon, and this is what brings me to the last part of my opening remarks.” The United States includes two former Lebanese ministers on the sanctions list, Youssef Fenianos and Ali Hassan Khalil, for providing material support to Hezbollah, which the United States previously included on the list of foreign terrorist organizations. Hezbollah’s political allies must know that they will be responsible for empowering these terrorists and their illegal activities in any way. Sanctions against Hezbollah, its supporters and other corrupt actors will continue, and we will use all available powers to hold Lebanese officials accountable for failing to fulfill their obligations to the Lebanese people. “
“We will continue to put pressure on Hezbollah, its supporters and other corrupt actors in the coming weeks and months as they hamper the aspirations of the Lebanese people for economic opportunity and achieving accountability and transparency,” Schenker concluded.
In turn, the regional spokeswoman for the US State Department, Geraldine Griffiths, stated that “Hezbollah is not a political party and we will continue to hold it responsible for its actions.”
Griffiths added: “We are working at all levels to combat corruption in Lebanon.”
Griffiths stressed in an interview with “Sky News” that “we are interested in forming a government in Lebanon capable of responding to the demands of the Lebanese people.”
