AFP, 15 February 2018 – US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson held talks with Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Thursday in Beirut where he offered Washington’s support for a “free and democratic” Lebanon.
Tillerson’s visit, part of a tour of the Middle East, comes at a time of tension between Lebanon and neighboring Israel, notably over the role of Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah.
The Iran-backed group, a member of Hariri’s government, is an arch-foe of Israel and branded a “terrorist” organization by the United States.
It is a key ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and has fighters on the ground in the war-torn country supporting the regime.
Hezbollah’s influence was at the heart of a political crisis in Lebanon over Hariri’s shock resignation announced from Saudi Arabia in November that was later rescinded.
“The United States stands with the Lebanese people for a free and democratic Lebanon,” Tillerson, the highest-ranking US official to visit the country in four years, wrote in the visitors’ book after talks with President Michel Aoun.
Tillerson meets Lebanese PM, offers US support
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