PRESS RELEASES 2007
Press Availability Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs C. David Welch with His Beatitude Cardinal Sfeir, Bkerki, Lebanon
May 15, 2007
I would like to thank His Eminence Patriarch Sfeir giving me the honor to meet with him this afternoon. I am grateful for the opportunity to benefit from His Eminence’s wisdom and experience as the United States continues to offer its support for Lebanese freedom and democracy. For more than two decades now, His Eminence has, on behalf of his community and for the benefit of all Lebanese, advocated for Lebanon’s sovereignty and independence. I assured His Eminence that the United States commitment to Lebanon remains firm, enduring and non-negotiable, and that my government will continue to support and stand with the Lebanese people as they complete their historic transformation to full democracy. I noted that the United States has confidence that Lebanon will flourish as a united and independent state. We will continue to work with Lebanon’s friends in the international community to assist Lebanon in realizing its potential to become—once again—a model for the region and the world of a dynamic and diverse population, living in harmony and united in purpose to secure peace and prosperity, stability and security for all its citizens.
I shared with His Eminence the belief of the United States that the Lebanese people have a unique opportunity at this time to take their future in their hands by electing a new president—on time, in accordance with the Constitution, and free of outside interference. For the members of Lebanon’s democratically elected Parliament, casting a vote for president, freely and without coercion, would be a significant milestone towards the Lebanese people’s goal of sovereignty and independence.
Lebanon
’s diverse population offers a rich deposit of talent and energy upon which to draw to create transparent and accountable government institutions, a thriving and vibrant economy and a hopeful future for all of the country’s citizens. I assured His Eminence that he could count on the United States to support Lebanese unity, prosperity, security, freedom, and democracy.
