Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam assured on Monday that Lebanon does not want any confrontation with the United States, pointing out that Washington has not demanded France’s exit from the “Mechanism negotiations”.
An-Nahar newspaper quoted Salam as assuring that both Beirut and Paris have affirmed that a conference in support of the country’s army will be held in France in March as scheduled.
Salam also said that Beirut expects the arrival of Qatari minister, Mohammed Al-Khulaifi, on Tuesday ahead of a February preparatory meeting before the Paris conference. The February meeting "could be held in a Gulf country, probably Qatar", he told the daily.
The PM ruled out the possibility that the dispute between US President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron could impact the latter’s role in Lebanon.
“There are more important problems than the matter of Lebanon’s Mechanism. Honestly, the small country of Lebanon is not the center of the world”, he said.
Following his meeting with Macron on Saturday, Salam said that the French President has affirmed adherence to the committee overseeing the ceasefire agreement (Mechanism).
Media reports in Lebanon hinted at a US rejection of any French participation in the Mechanism meetings. But Salam stressed that the US is a “strategic partner for Lebanon. We are not in a confrontation because it is a key partner in the ceasefire monitoring committee”.
