Al-Mustaqbal bloc leader Fouad Saniora on Saturday snapped back at Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah over his accusations that the former PM guaranteed a way out for the U.S. after it rejected to fund the United Nations cultural agency UNESCO.
Following closed-door talks with Premier Najib Miqati on the sidelines of the Dar al-Fatwa meeting, Saniora said: “Linking the funding of UNESCO and the international tribunal is inappropriate because the issue of the court has to do with Lebanon’s commitment and cooperation with it.”
Nasrallah said on Friday that he saw no reason why Lebanon should be expected to contribute its share of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon's funding given Washington's decision to cut off funds to UNESCO after members voted to admit Palestine as a full member.
"Isn't the funding of UNESCO an international obligation for the U.S.?" he said. "Why can it shirk its obligation and not Lebanon?"
He also hinted that Saniora’s appeal for funding from friendly Arab and Islamic countries and the Arab League provided a safe exit for the U.S.
Saniora’s sources told An Nahar daily on Saturday that the Mustaqbal bloc leader’s initiative over the UNESCO funding was not aimed at covering up for the American decision to stop financing the agency.
“It was an expression of condemnation of the American stance from the Palestinian cause,” they said.
On the STL, Saniora’s sources told An Nahar that the issue is not only about funding the court but about “confirming the Lebanese state’s commitment to a national cause that is linked to national security and U.N. resolutions.”
They also called for a united stance against crime, terrorism and the assassins of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri.
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