US Assistant Secretary of State Edward Walker praised Friday Lebanon's economic reform and said that the US backed the assistance given by the European Union and the World Bank to Lebanon to overcome the country's economic crisis, reported the Kuwaiti News Agency (KUNA).
Walker's remarks came after a meeting with Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri on Friday.
The United States on Thursday announced that it sent sniffer dogs to help clear up mines planted during the Israeli occupation of the south, reported the Daily Star newspaper.
Meanwhile, Walker told reporters that he apologized for “US Secretary of State Colin Powell’s inability to visit Beirut during his recent tour, because he had to return home for attending president Bush's report on budget,” said KUNA.
Powell’s tour last week included visits to Cairo, Jerusalem, Ramallah, Amman, Kuwait, Riyadh and Damascus.
The US envoy said that the US is working to find solutions to end the Palestinian-Israeli violence.
“Our main concern now is to stop the violence there,” he said.
The US envoy said also that his country would keep control on Iraq’s armament and weapons of mass destruction that may threaten neighboring states, KUNA quoted him as saying.
"We are working on mechanisms that secure economies of regional states that will not be affected through control of Iraqi armament," he said, adding that the US aims at providing normal living conditions for the Iraqi people. “The US is seeking a compromise between tight control on Iraqi weaponry and the entry of commodities for the Iraqi people.” – Albawaba.com
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