An-Nahar newspaper quoted a Russian official as calling for Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s resignation if his government fails to provide its annual share of funding to the UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL).
“Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mikhail Bogdanov, told a Hezbollah delegation [last week] in Moscow that Mikati must resign if its government does not [approve] the funding of the STL,” the daily’s Sunday edition said.
The paper also reported that Russia “still has the same position regarding the tribunal and believes that the perpetrators behind the [2005] assassination of ex-PM Rafik Hariri should be punished.”
“Lebanon must honor its commitments to the STL…or else Moscow is confident that the UN Security Council will adopt sanctions against Lebanon,” An-Nahar added.
Hezbollah and other Syrian-backed March 8 parties and figures have spoken out against Lebanon’s ties and funding for the tribunal and called it a tool to incite sectarian strife in Lebanon, however, Mikati has repeatedly voiced Lebanon’s commitment to the tribunal.
Four Hezbollah members have been indicted by the STL for the Rafik Hariri murder. However, the Shia group strongly denies the charges and refuses to cooperate with the court.
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