Future parliamentary bloc on Tuesday sternly deprecated the meeting Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil had held with his Syrian counterpart Walid al-Moallem on the sidelines of the United Nations' General Assembly in New York, saying such act constitutes a "blatant attack" on the Lebanese government and its head, Prime Minister Saad Hariri.

"The bloc sees in this behavior a sheer attempt to drag Lebanon into the Iran-Syrian regime front, under many and various pretenses," the MPs said in a statement issued following the bloc's weekly meeting, and read out by lawmaker Ammar Houri.

"The bloc considers this meeting, as well as other unilateral encounters, as a violation of the governmental norms and principles, and a flagrant breach of the ministerial statement; it is also a blatant attack on the government and its head, as well as on the inter-governmental solidarity," the statement added.

"The bloc holds onto its unswerving national position rejecting any form of settlement of Syrians or other refugees in Lebanon," conferees said, highlighting the necessity to exert all the required efforts to secure a safe return of the displaced to their homeland in the nearest time possible.

On the regional level, the bloc warned against the expected Kurdish independence referendum.

"Such step paves the way for other similar groups across the Arab world to follow suit. As a result, this [step] only serves Israel and the schemes of some regional states and international powers," the bloc concluded

Source: AFP