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Lebanon not in any regional axis: ex-PM

Xinhua, February 15, 2015 Adjust font size:

Former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri said on Saturday his country does not belong to any regional axis, and urged Hezbollah to withdraw from Syria.

Hariri made the remarks in a speech marking the tenth anniversary of the assassination of his father, former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, in downtown Beirut. He has been living for years in Riyadh and Paris over security concerns.

Rafik Hariri, a leading Sunni figure, was assassinated in a huge explosion that targeted his convoy in Beirut on Feb. 14 2005, killing him and 22 others.

"Lebanon is not in an axis that extends from Iran to Syria to Palestine," he said, adding that "Lebanon is not in any axis and the Lebanese are not products to be used on anyone's table," he said.

Commenting on recent remarks by Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Hariri warned that "linking the Golan and the South fronts is an act of madness."

He said it is a "reason to ask Hezbollah to withdraw from Syria and stop bringing blazes into the country."

However, the Future Movement, a party he heads, and Hezbollah agreed have talks over defusing sectarian tensions between Sunnis and Shiites in the country. Endit