Obama and Suleiman discuss Mideast peace

Mon, 14 Dec 2009

Washington - US President Barack Obama and his Lebanese counterpart, Michel Suleiman, met at the White House Monday pledging to work toward regional peace in the Middle East. The two leaders emphasized the importance of implementing the UN Security Council resolution that ended the 2006 conflict with Israel, including the disarming of Shiite militants like Hizbollah.

"I emphasized to him our concerns about the extensive arms that are smuggled into Lebanon that potentially serve as a threat to Israel," Obama said.

"And it is in the interests I think of all parties concerned to make sure that enforcement is exerted with respect to such smuggling, as well as to any other issues," he added.

Suleiman pressed Obama to support a resolution to the Middle East crisis "that cannot be done at the detriment of Lebanon" and to work toward halting Israeli settlement activity. He also said that Palestinian refugees in Lebanon must be allowed to return to their homeland.

There are some 367,000 Palestinian refugees living in 12 camps in Lebanon.

"We insist on the right of return for Palestinians," Suleiman said through a translator.

The United States has provided millions of dollars in aid to help the Lebanese build up its military and security forces to help keep the country stable and resist militant groups like Hezbollah, which has been responsible for attacks against Israel.