ARAM I CATHOLICOS DISCUSSES PRESENT STATE OF LEBANON WITH U.S. AMBASSADOR

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Feb 15 2007

ANTELIAS, FEBRUARY 15, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Jeffrey Feltman,
the Ambassador of the United States of America to Lebanon met on
February 14 with Aram I Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia. Gina
Winstanley, the U.S. Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director of the
Department for Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon who visited Lebanon
for a short time was also present at the meeting. The present state
of Lebanon with all its sides and the alarm being continued to stop
the possible variants were widely discussed during the meeting. His
Holiness first of all expressed his anxiety on the occasion of the
alarm being continued, saying that Lebanon is on the way of falling
itself, and unfortunately "political responsible persons do not
touch upon the hard consequences of the created situation." Aram I
Catholicos, particularly, said: "It is necessary, on the initiative
of Saudi Arabia and by cooperation with Iran, to invite political
and community responsibles of Lebanon to Saudi Arabia to widely
discuss and reach corresponding agreement on the main issues Lebanon
is interested in." His Holiness Patriarch also mentioned that only
such an initiative may be influential and give stable solution to
the present uncertainty. He proposed that the meeting participants
present his viewpoint to the authorities of Washington.