Head of the Future bloc in Parliament MP Saad Rafic Hariri held talks on the measures that should be adopted in the international investigation into the assassination of Prime Minister Rafic Hariri with Russian Foreign Minister Serguei Lavrov. He also met Turkish Foreign Minister Adullah Gul in New York City, where world leaders have gathered to attend the 2005 World Summit at the United Nations headquarters.
MP Hariri said the ongoing UN-commissioned probe, led by Chief Investigator Detleve Mehlis, as well as developments in Lebanon will top his discussions in New York. He also confirmed his return to Beirut soon, and rejected reports that he and Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt seek to name a new Lebanese President.
After meeting Minister Lavrov, at Russia’s Mission to the United Nations, Mr. Saad told reporters the time has not come to name a new President, and when that happens he will discuss it with the Future bloc’s allies in Parliament. He described the meeting, which was attended by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Yakovenko as excellent. He praised Russian backing for United Nations Security council Resolution 1595, which laid the ground works for the international probe into Premier Hariri’s killing, and pointed out that discussions focused on the steps that should be taken in the future, like setting up a court, citing progress in Mr. Mehlis’s investigation.
Asked if his visit to the United States was “a show of strength”, because President Emile Lahoud is also attending UN functions in New York, MP Hariri made clear that he is meeting his late father’s friends and is using the murdered leader’s international contacts for Lebanon’s interest. “It is our duty to preserve and develop these relations,” he said.
Mr. Saad later received Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul at his residence in the Waldorf Astoria Hotel.