Egyptian FM vows to stand by Lebanese people and their choices

Visiting Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohammed Kamel Amr stressed Tuesday that "Egypt stands by the Lebanese people and their choices," the National News Agency (NNA) reported. "The solution to the crisis must come from the Lebanese people themselves," said Amr after his meeting with Lebanon's House Speaker Nabih Berri. Lebanon's political crisis deepened following the killing of Internal Security Forces intelligence chief Maj. General Wissam al- Hassan in Beirut's Ashrafieh on Oct. 19. Earlier on Tuesday, Amr said that the "formation of a new government in Lebanon is up to the Lebanese people." Amr arrived in Beirut on Tuesday for a two-day visit to meet with senior Lebanese officials and stress his country's support to the resumption of the national dialogue among the political foes in Lebanon, the NNA said. Meanwhile, Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party said in a statement that Amr telephoned the party leader MP Walid Jumblat and discussed the latest developments in the country. Jumblat reiterated his rejection of a political vacuum in Lebanon, demanding the formation of a national unity government, according to the statement.