Lebanon says no to foreign meddling

Lebanese President Michel Sleiman says the country’s political crisis has a domestic solution, reiterating that it will not be resolved through foreign interference.

Addressing a number of foreign ambassadors in Beirut on Monday, Sleiman said the primary responsibility to solve the political crisis lies in the Lebanese themselves, a Press TV correspondent reported.

“Despite the appreciation for Arab leaders on their initiative, this responsibility lies first and foremost on the Lebanese,” he said.

Lebanon is in a political standoff after Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s government collapsed on Wednesday when 11 Hezbollah-affiliated ministers resigned in a dispute over the US-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), probing the assassination of former Lebanese Premier Rafiq Hariri in 2005.

The US-sponsored tribunal is reportedly about to indict some Hezbollah members in the Hariri murder case — an allegation which has been vehemently rejected by the Lebanese resistance movement.

The Lebanese president also said that the solution should come through state institutions and the adoption of innovative dialogue.

Sleiman also said that the Lebanese still have an opportunity to prove their ability to manage their own affairs.

On Sunday, Hezbollah Secretary General Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah said Lebanon’s current crisis was due to pressure applied by the US and Israel.

Saudi Arabia and Syria unsuccessfully joined hands to pull the country out of the situation.

Nasrallah said Washington and Tel Aviv had prevented the joint endeavor from bearing fruit, thus propelling Beirut into the current situation.