Lebanon will remain ``steadfast'' in maintaining close relations with Syria and ensuring that its peace talks with Israel are tied to its powerful and influential neighbor, the Lebanese president said Sunday. Emile Lahoud said in a televised speech that his country's Independence Day comes Monday amid a ``globally and regionally fateful juncture,'' a reference to a possible spillover from the war in Iraq and increasing international pressure to have Syrian troops withdrawn from Lebanon. ``The unforeseen events that we are witnessing, the political volatility and the levels of wanton violence compel us to ask how to safeguard Lebanon as we face the looming storm,'' Lahoud said in the speech, which marked Lebanon gaining independence in 1943 after some 20 years of a French mandate.
The pro-Syrian Lahoud said Lebanon's position on the Arab-Israeli dispute and the relations with Syria are the cornerstones of Lebanon's foreign policy. ``We concluded over a decade ago that Lebanon's interest is to remain steadfast, in spite of mounting pressures,'' he said. Lebanon, officially at war with Israel since 1948, for years has rejected the idea of separate peace talks, insisting on a ``joint track'' with neighboring Syria in any peace negotiations. |