Leave Lebanon Alone, World Powers Tell Saudi, Iran

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Leave Lebanon alone, world powers tell Saudi, Iran

French President Emmanuel Macron led calls Friday for countries to stop meddling in Lebanon at an international meeting aimed at preventing the fragile nation becoming a pawn in the power struggle between Saudi Arabia and Iran

Paris, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 08th Dec, 2017 ) :French President Emmanuel Macron led calls Friday for countries to stop meddling in Lebanon at an international meeting aimed at preventing the fragile nation becoming a pawn in the power struggle between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson attended the eight-nation talks in Paris with Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, whose shock resignation last month -- which he has since withdrawn -- sparked fears of a new middle East crisis.

The five permanent members of the UN Security Council, along with Germany, Italy and Egypt, sent representatives to Paris to show support for Lebanon. Hariri's surprise resignation announcement from Riyadh last month sent tremors through Lebanon, with many suspecting the Saudis of forcing him out to trigger a showdown with the pro-Iranian Lebanese militia Hezbollah.

Opening the meeting, Macron said it was "essential that all of the parties in Lebanon and regional actors respect the cardinal principle of non-interference" in other countries.

Speaking afterwards, Tillerson urged US ally Saudi Arabia to be "more measured" in its dealings with its neighbours, including Lebanon.

Citing the Saudi blockade of Qatar, its bombing campaign in Yemen and Lebanon, he said: "We would encore them to be a bit more measured, a bit more thoughtful, in those actions, to fully consider the consequences." The talks on Lebanon came as the Middle East was roiled by a new crisis, with US President Donald Trump's decision to recognise the disputed city of Jerusalem as Israel's capital sparking a "day of rage" by Palestinians.

Hariri and Macron both emphasised their opposition to Trump's announcement, which will eventually involve moving the American embassy in Israel to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv. "It complicates the peace process even more (between Israel and the Palestinians) and creates a new challenge to regional security," Hariri said.

Macron added: "None of the region's problems will be resolved by unilateral decisions or the strongest imposing their will."