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Berri to Asharq Al-Awsat: I Am in Contact with Hezbollah, My Agreement with Nasrallah Still Stands

Lebanese Forces MP Georges Adwan (C) shakes hands with Hezbollah's chief Hassan Nasrallah parliament Speaker Nabih Berri looks on during a meeting that brought together parties from across Lebanon's fractious political spectrum, in Beirut on March 3, 2006. (AFP)
Lebanese Forces MP Georges Adwan (C) shakes hands with Hezbollah's chief Hassan Nasrallah parliament Speaker Nabih Berri looks on during a meeting that brought together parties from across Lebanon's fractious political spectrum, in Beirut on March 3, 2006. (AFP)
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Berri to Asharq Al-Awsat: I Am in Contact with Hezbollah, My Agreement with Nasrallah Still Stands

Lebanese Forces MP Georges Adwan (C) shakes hands with Hezbollah's chief Hassan Nasrallah parliament Speaker Nabih Berri looks on during a meeting that brought together parties from across Lebanon's fractious political spectrum, in Beirut on March 3, 2006. (AFP)
Lebanese Forces MP Georges Adwan (C) shakes hands with Hezbollah's chief Hassan Nasrallah parliament Speaker Nabih Berri looks on during a meeting that brought together parties from across Lebanon's fractious political spectrum, in Beirut on March 3, 2006. (AFP)

Lebanon’s parliament Speaker Nabih Berri stressed on Monday that Beirut was still committed to the agreement reached with US envoy Amos Hochstein on a path that leads to a ceasefire with Israel and implementation of United Nations Security Council resolution 1701.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, he categorically rejected tying the ceasefire to the presidential election in Lebanon.

“No one has anything to do with the election of a president and no one has the right to interfere in this issue. This is a sovereign affair,” he stressed.

“Even though we welcome any initiative to help us, we reject any meddling or dictates,” he added.

Berri held a series of meetings with various officials, including visiting French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and army commander Jean Qahwaji.

“We informed the French minister of Lebanon’s position that is committed to a ceasefire and the immediate implementation of resolution 1701 in line with the agreement reached with the US envoy,” Berri said.

He revealed that he is in contact with Hezbollah and that its views “are not far off from our position.”

“I had previously made this initiative and had reached an agreement on it with Hassan Nasrallah. This agreement still stands,” he stated.

During his meeting with Barrot, Berri expressed his gratitude to France and President Emmanuel Macron on their “keenness and support to Lebanon, especially during this critical time with the ongoing Israeli attacks and siege that are preventing it from sending humanitarian aid to the displaced.”

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Cyprus Can Help Rid Syria of Chemical Weapons, Search for its Missing, Says Top Diplomat

FILE PHOTO: A UN chemical weapons expert, wearing a gas mask, holds a plastic bag containing samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus August 29, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed Abdullah
FILE PHOTO: A UN chemical weapons expert, wearing a gas mask, holds a plastic bag containing samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus August 29, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed Abdullah
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Cyprus Can Help Rid Syria of Chemical Weapons, Search for its Missing, Says Top Diplomat

FILE PHOTO: A UN chemical weapons expert, wearing a gas mask, holds a plastic bag containing samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus August 29, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed Abdullah
FILE PHOTO: A UN chemical weapons expert, wearing a gas mask, holds a plastic bag containing samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus August 29, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed Abdullah

Cyprus stands ready to help eliminate Syria’s remaining chemical weapons stockpiles and to support a search for people whose fate remains unknown after more than a decade of war, the top Cypriot diplomat said Saturday.

Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos said Cyprus’ offer is grounded on its own past experience both with helping rid Syria of chemical weapons 11 years ago and its own ongoing, decades-old search for hundreds of people who disappeared amid fighting between Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriots in the 1960s and a 1974 Turkish invasion, The AP reported.

Cyprus in 2013 hosted the support base of a mission jointly run by the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to remove and dispose of Syria's chemical weapons.

“As a neighboring country located just 65 miles from Syria, Cyprus has a vested interest in Syria’s future. Developments there will directly impact Cyprus, particularly in terms of potential new migratory flows and the risks of terrorism and extremism,” Kombos told The AP in written replies to questions.

Kombos said there are “profound concerns” among his counterparts across the region over Syria’s future security, especially regarding a possible resurgence of extremist groups like ISIS in a fragmented and polarized society.

“This is particularly critical in light of potential social and demographic engineering disguised as “security” arrangements, which could further destabilize the country,” Kombos said.

The diplomat also pointed to the recent proliferation of narcotics production like the stimulant Captagon that is interconnected with smuggling networks involved in people and arms trafficking.

Kombos said ongoing attacks against Syria’s Kurds must stop immediately, given the role that Kurdish forces have played in combating extremist forces like the ISIS group in the past decade.

Saleh Muslim, a member of the Kurdish Presidential Council, said in an interview that the Kurds primarily seek “equality” enshrined in rights accorded to all in any democracy.

He said a future form of governance could accord autonomy to the Kurds under some kind of federal structure.

“But the important thing is to have democratic rights for all the Syrians and including the Kurdish people,” he said.

Muslim warned that the Kurdish-majority city of Kobani, near Syria’s border with Türkiye, is in “very big danger” of falling into the hands of Turkish-backed forces, and accused Türkiye of trying to occupy it.

Kombos said the international community needs to ensure that the influence Türkiye is trying to exert in Syria is “not going to create an even worse situation than there already is.”

“Whatever the future landscape in Syria, it will have a direct and far-reaching impact on the region, the European Union and the broader international community,” Kombos said.