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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Aoun slams Assad's proposed troop withdrawal |
| 2005-03-03 |
| Former army commander General Michel Aoun said Wednesday that Syrian President Bashar Assad's declaration that Syrian troops would withdraw from Lebanon sometime soon was nothing more than a delaying tactic. Aoun lashed out at Assad during a teleconference call with his supporters and students at the Issam Fares Hall of the American University of Beirut. Aoun said: "What Assad said is merely propaganda. If he wanted the Syrians to withdraw from Lebanon, he would have done that a long time ago." He added that his fight was not with the Syrian people, whom he respects. Aoun also commented on Chouf MP Walid Jumblatt's request for the Syrian Army to take President Emile Lahoud with them when they withdraw from Lebanon. He said: "If Lahoud's resignation solves the crisis, then so be it. Otherwise there is no need for it." Aoun also mocked Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres for his comments made earlier in the week in support of the opposition in Lebanon. He said: "No one asked Peres for his support." |
| Posted by:Fred |