Lebanese Foreign Minister: Habib

By Joseph Haboush, Al Arabiya English — Lebanon’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and called for an immediate withdrawal of Russian forces from the neighboring country. “Lebanon condemns the invasion of Ukrainian territory and calls on Russia to halt its military operation immediately and withdraw its forces… and return to dialogue and negotiations as a better means of finding a solution,” a statement from the ministry read. Beirut said its position was based on previous invasions that Lebanon had witnessed, “which led to losses that were felt for many years.” This was an apparent reference to Israeli and Syrian invasions as well as Palestinian fighters in Lebanon. “Based on Lebanon’s adherence to the principle of international law… and respecting the sovereignty of countries,” the decision was made by Lebanon to stand by Ukraine.

Syria has voiced its support for Russia in recent days, which comes as no surprise. Russian President Vladimir Putin has propped up the Assad regime, and Russian forces conduct aerial bombardments of Syrian areas. Other Arab countries have kept a distance from the ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Lebanon itself has an issue with sovereignty as the Iran-backed Hezbollah continues to possess weapons outside of the state’s control. The group can unilaterally make decisions of war and peace. The group also has fighters in Syria and provides assistance to Yemen’s Houthis and other Iran-backed groups inside Iraq.