Lebanon Criticizes German Chancellor Angela Merkel
Joseph S. Mayton - All Headline News Middle East Correspondent Cairo, Egypt (AHN) - Lebanon criticized German Chancellor Angela Merkel's comments concerning German participation in the United Nations peacekeeping force in the country on Saturday. Fawzi Salloukh, Lebanon's Foreign Minister, urged Berlin to be an "unbiased" contributor to the UN mission in Lebanon. "We expect a friendly country such as Germany to be balanced and unbiased in dealing with its mission," Salloukh told reporters in Beirut. German Chancellor Merkel had said on Wednesday following the German cabinet's decision to deploy warships to Lebanon, that they were doing so due to Israel's right to exist. "This decision was made in view both of our particular responsibility for Israel's right to exist and for a solid solution for peace in the region," Merkel said. "Germany knows that UN peacekeepers are entrusted with protecting international peace and stability without prejudice or bias," Salloukh told Lebanon's official National News Agency. Germany has approved the deployment of a naval task force that includes two frigates and 2,400 personnel to prevent arms shipments from reaching Hezbollah guerillas in southern Lebanon.
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