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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Syrias Assad meets Wally Jumblatt |
| 2010-04-01 |
| [Al Arabiya Latest] Syrian President Bashar al-Assad met Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt on Wednesday, the official Syrian news agency said, sealing reconciliation with one of his fiercest former critics in Lebanon. Jumblatt had turned fiercely anti-Syrian after the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik al-Hariri and criticized Assad as responsible for the killing. But he has since said good ties with Syria were crucial to prevent Lebanon from descending into chaos and to preserve its Druze minority. Jumblatt said recently that critical comments he had made about Assad were inappropriate. The reconciliation was being mediated by the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah. "Sign here, Wally." The enigmatic Jumblatt was a powerful warlord during Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war, during which his father, Kamal Jumblatt, was assassinated after disagreements with Damascus. Most of Lebanon's Druze elders blamed Syria for the killing, but Damascus denied any role. After the Hariri killing, Jumblatt spearheaded the strategy of the "March 14" alliance, which accused Syria of the killing. He was also one of the strongest critics of Syrian and Iranian backed Hezbollah, and its operations outside the control of the sectarian-based Lebanese state. Hezbollah and its pro-Syrian allies fought Jumblatt's followers in a 2008 conflict that brought Lebanon to the brink of civil war, but their relations have since improved. The Hariri killing sparked international criticism that forced an end to Syria's 29-year military presence in Lebanon. A special court set up in The Hague has yet to indict anyone for Hariri's killing, in which Damascus has denied any role. Syria has been regaining influence in Lebanon since then, helped by its emergence from Western isolation and a subtler approach to its management of Lebanese politics and ties with Beirut. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 All you need is Wally to see which way the wind is blowing... |
| Posted by: Spot 2010-04-01 07:58 |