Moscow hopes that the Lebanese will correctly perceive the verdict of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) in the case of the murder of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and show national unity, a comment distributed on Thursday by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova reads.
"We hope that the verdict issued on August 18 in the Hague will be correctly perceived by all Lebanese, encouraging them to strengthen unity in the name of national interests," the diplomat said. According to her, the murdered Hariri himself consistently "defended the unity and indivisibility of Lebanon, called for solidarity of representatives of all the country's numerous ethnic and religious communities in the face of any attempts to sow inter-Lebanese strife."
"We are convinced that even today all influential Lebanese politicians should unite in order to bring their homeland out of the protracted crisis by joint efforts," Zakharova said in her comments. She pointed out that to this end, steps must be taken "to defuse tension, renounce violence, and prevent a slide into uncontrolled development of events."
Zakharova stressed that Russia always supported the activities of the STL in the interests of conducting a fair and impartial trial and bringing to justice those responsible for the crime. Moscow in this process was guided by unconditional respect for the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Lebanon, as well as the tasks of ensuring the stable and peaceful development of the state.
"In turn, we provide all possible assistance to the friendly Lebanese people," the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry said. - We are in favor of resolving all pressing issues on the domestic political agenda by the Lebanese themselves in the legal field, through a constructive dialogue with access to a broad national consensus, without interference from outside. We hope that all interested external parties will also build their line in such a way as to effectively contribute to the normalization of the political and socio-economic situation in Lebanon."
Verdict in the Hariri murder case
On Tuesday, the STL held a meeting in the Hague, where the verdict on the murder of Rafik Hariri was announced. The Tribunal was established in 2007 by a decision of the UN Security Council to bring to justice those involved in the terrorist attack in Beirut on 14 February 2005, the victim of which was Hariri. The explosion on the Beirut embankment claimed the lives of Hariri's bodyguards and aides, killing 22 people in total.
Four Lebanese were accused of involvement in the murder - Selim Ayashi, Hussein Uneisi, Hassan Merhi and Asaad Sabr. The investigation found that all of them were associated with the Shiite Hezbollah party. International judges found Ayashi guilty, and the others were acquitted.
Earlier, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah refused to hand over the suspects to international justice. He denied all charges and warned that "a politically motivated trial in the Hague could provoke new civil strife in Lebanon."
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Press service of the Russian Foreign Ministry / TASS
Based on materials from TASS