Lebanon’s air, land and sea routes will be needed for Syria’s reconstruction in case of any upcoming political solution to the country’s civil conflict, a European diplomat told a local daily in remarks published Tuesday.
“When we look at countries in the Middle East from an airplane, there is war and fighting. So we knew that when the time came for a political solution in Syria, we would need the airport in Lebanon, the Lebanese ports, the Beirut-Damascus road, banking professionals and your skilled workers,” the unidentified diplomatic source said, according to Al-Akhbar.
The source added that European nations hoped to see a stable Lebanon as a good in itself, but also as a means to further the interests of European nations. “This spurred on our efforts,” the source said.
Citing European diplomatic efforts in the region, the source added that they had been successful in reaching the goals they had set for Lebanon, and in establishing the International Support Group for Lebanon.
“It’s true that Lebanon’s stability is important to us, and our diplomatic efforts assisted [with this] in the last four years, with the formation of an international support group,” the source said. “The group has succeeded in its main goals.”
Daily Star
13 December
