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Opposition Wins Support from the Urals to the Atlantic

An opposition delegation to Europe has returned to Beirut with iron-clad assurances stretching from Russia's Ural mountains to the shores of the Atlantic to support Lebanon's drive to regain its full sovereignty and independence from Syria.

Druze leader Walid Jumblat won Russia's support to the cause during talks he held with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow Friday just as eight other opposition figures were getting a pledge of unlimited support from France's Foreign Minister Michel Barnier in Paris.

The crisis over Lebanon must not be allowed to destabilize either that country or the wider Middle East, Lavrov said after the meeting with Jumblat. "We must help find a way out of the crisis, not destabilize the situation, either in Lebanon or in the region."

Lavrov made no direct response to Jumblat's request from Russia to help investigate Hariri's assassination. But he said "we were deeply shocked by the terrorist act which killed Hariri. He had done a great deal to ensure that Lebanon developed along a stable path, and always tried to provide full sovereignty for Lebanon."

The delegation to Paris included Jumblat's senior-most aide Marwan Hamadeh, presidential aspirant Nassib Lahoud and legislators Naila Mouawad, Ghattas khoury, Mosbah Ahdab and Ahmed Fatfat. The delegation visited Brussels before traveling to Paris.

Delegation members said in interviews carried by An Nahar Saturday that France and the European Union have made Lebanon a top priority, focusing on the recovery of Lebanese sovereignty, the withdrawal of the Syrian army and intelligence apparatus before the April-May elections and investigating Hariri's assassination to the bitter end.

The delegation also held a meeting with Exiled Gen. Michel Aoun, who hastened to don the red-and-white scarf that has become the emblem of the Lebanese opposition. Aoun and the delegation agreed on:

1-A total withdrawal of the Syrian army and intelligence personnel,

2-The formation of a neutral government in Lebanon to superintend the spring elections with international observation,

3-Sacking the masterminds of the police state that is controlling Lebanon,

4-An international investigation of Hariri's assassination.

Beirut, Updated 14 Mar 05, 09:01

Post #7 has the links workinng , unless I screwed up one of them. They are from here:

naharnet.com

See linked News Items on the right!