Syria's Lebanon envoy meets Aoun, rebukes Qatar

Syrian ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdel-Karim Ali lambasted Qatar Wednesday, accusing it of fanning the flames of the Syrian crisis and providing extremists with weapons and money to undermine the country's security, according to the National News Agency. “It is no longer a secret that Qatar funded media outlets and cooperated with Turkish, French and U.S. intelligence to distort the facts about the Syrian crisis,” Ali said following a visit to Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) leader MP Michel Aoun. Ali also said that the Qatari Emir’s Tuesday speech at the annual U.N. General Assembly in New York City expressed “disappointment” more than “power.” “Political activity has bypassed Qatar during the recent phase; maybe this is what bothered the Qatari Emir and prompted him to make such suggestions,” said Ali. In his speech, Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani said that Arab countries should intervene in Syria to discharge their "national, humanitarian, political and military duties" in the face of the U.N. Security Council's failure to act. “Bypassing the Security Council would enable a peaceful transition of power in Syria,” he added. The Syrian ambassador said talks with Aoun tackled the recent assassination attempt targeting the FPM leader, as well as the Syrian crisis. “General Aoun stressed his keenness on [Syrian] national unity and intra-Syrian dialogue, which will immunize the country from a plight [prepared for it] by many enemies,” said Ali. “General Aoun has a deep insight and I listened to his point of view on Syria’s crisis,” he added. Aoun said he escaped an attempt on his life when his convoy came under fire in southern Lebanon in the latest of several abortive assassination bids targeting leading Christian politicians. Ali also claimed his country is not involved in incidents that tamper with Lebanon’s security. “Syria is keen on Lebanon’s security and the brotherly ties between the two countries,” Ali stressed. Asked about a high-ranking Syrian official’s involvement in former Lebanese minister Michel Samaha’s case, Ali said: “Samaha’s case is aimed at media exploitation instead of looking for the truth. I don’t want to get into any issue which hasn’t been cleared up yet, but I can say Syria is innocent of any incident targeting Lebanon’s security.” Samaha, who is close to the Syrian government, has been charged with plotting terrorist attacks in the country and transporting explosives from Syria into Lebanon. The head of Syria’s Intelligence, Gen. Ali Mamlouk, and another Syrian army officer have been accused in the case alongside Samaha. The Daily Star