Lebanon to boycott Warsaw conference on Mideast, Iran
Posted Feb 11, 2019 10:29:54 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
BEIRUT — Lebanon will not take part in a conference that Poland is holding this week on the situation in the Middle East and Iran.
Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil made the announcement Monday during a joint press conference with his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif.
The two-day Warsaw conference begins Wednesday and will be co-hosted by the U.S. Some 80 countries have been invited, including Israel. The conference is widely seen as aimed at isolating Iran, which was not invited.
Lebanon has been following a policy of disassociation from regional conflicts. Iran enjoys wide influence in the country through the Hezbollah militant group, which along with allied parties holds a majority in parliament.
Lebanon is technically at war with Israel, and Lebanese officials avoid conferences where Israelis are present.
The Associated Press
