Saad: Assad wants stable Lebanon

Syria is keen on stability in Lebanon and is confident it will end its year-long crisis through a political settlement, Popular Nasserite Organization head Osama Saad told a local daily in an interview published Saturday. “What concerns the leadership in Syria is that Lebanon be at ease and then Syria will be at ease and vice versa,” Saad, who said he had met President Bashar Assad in the last couple of days, told As-Safir newspaper. “Events in Syria have repercussions on Lebanon as is the case that the situation in Lebanon has effects on Syria. They [Syrian leadership] stressed the need to boost national unity in Lebanon as a prelude to ending alignments,” he added. The Sidon lawmaker said Damascus was realistic about the nature of the Lebanese government and “they know that this government can’t give any more than it can.” Damascus would not comment on Lebanon’s policy of dissociating itself from developments in its neighbor, Saad said, adding that “they are realistic and know perfectly well that the prime minister cannot offer anything more than that.” On the crisis in his country, Assad, according to Saad, relayed a sense of confidence on Syria’s future and that developments pointed in the direction of a political settlement. Quoting Assad, Saad said: “Syria is behaving in accordance with the logic of the state and the matter is not an issue of revenge and the duty [of the state] is to resolve these issues and it is [doing so].” Assad, according to Saad, said there was ongoing dialogue with opposition groups that “are acting on national principals and oppose foreign intervention and the use of weapons and violence.” “However, with regard to forces calling for foreign intervention and the arming of the opposition that Arab and foreign states are sponsoring, there is no dialogue with these groups, particularly with those states that don’t adopt the bare minimum of democracy, personal and general freedoms and where human rights are not secured,” Saad, quoting Assad, said.