Lebanese FM: Arab League can't talk of peaceful solution

Lebanese Caretaker Foreign Minister, Adnan Mansour, said granting Syria's seat at the Arab League (AL) to the 'Doha Coalition' is a dangerous precedent in the joint Arab action. In an interview with the Lebanese al-Manar TV by phone, Mansour highlighted that Article 8 of the Arab League Charter provides that member countries respect the standing regime of other member countries and vow not to take any action to change it. He said bringing another party in Syria's place, which is a member of the UN, has created a difference in international stances, adding that this difference will neither serve stability and security in Syria nor stop the cycle of violence, which will have dangerous repercussions on the region's countries in the near future. Mansour stressed that it is no longer enough now for Lebanon to dissociate itself from the Arab League resolutions on Syria, saying that giving countries the right to let weapons and gunmen enter Syria will create a serious case which would destabilize Lebanon. "If Lebanon really wants peace and stability to prevail in Syria, it should dissociate itself from the foreign interference in Syria's affairs," he said, calling upon the Arab League to bring Syria back so as to work with all the parties to find a peaceful solution. "How could the League replace a country with a party and allow the entry of weapons to one side and then talk about a peaceful solution at the time when it is overthrowing the membership of a country," Mansour added.