Leading Lebanese opposition MP Saad Hariri held a closed-door meeting yesterday with Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir in Rome, saying in comments afterward that Lebanon has been given "a golden opportunity" that must be seized. The Lebanese Parliament's majority leader said he was surprised by "all the fuss" concerning German prosecutor Deltlev Mehlis' final report on the international investigation into the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, adding that "the Future parliamentary bloc will accept the findings of the report, regardless of the outcome." Regarding his meeting with Sfeir, held at the Maronite School in the Italian capital, Hariri said: "I updated His Eminence on the results of my recent visits to New York, France and Saudi Arabia and the outcome of my meetings.""His Eminence and I are optimistic because Lebanon has a golden opportunity that we must grasp," he added, referring to the first chance for true Lebanese sovereignty in decades. Asked to comment on recent claims from both Damascus and its Lebanese allies that Mehlis' report will be void of any hard evidence of Syrian involvement in the attack, Hariri said: "If it's actually empty, then why is this massive campaign being waged against it? The report will be issued in a couple of days and we are waiting for this report and will accept it regardless of the outcome."
Commenting on the security situation in the country, he said: "We all have security concerns and the government is deploying all possible efforts to ensure security for the Lebanese people." Hariri is one of many Lebanese officials who have been conducting their affairs from abroad due to "security concerns." Hariri also said that "some people were trying to create an atmosphere of anxiety before the issuing of the report, which they say is void" of evidence. "There is a result for this report and those who assassinated Rafik Hariri will pay the price for their crime," he added.