Ali Discusses Bilateral Ties with Mansour, Praises Lebanon’s Arab League Stance

Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdul Karim Ali praised on Thursday Lebanon’s stance at the Arab League, which decided to disassociate itself from the turmoil in Syria.

Ali held a meeting with Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour, who informed him about the Arab League’s meetings on development in Syria.

According to the National News Agency the two discussed the “bilateral ties and the importance of controlling the border” between Syria and Lebanon.

Mansour congratulated the Syrian ambassador for the announcement of a new constitutional referendum for February 26.

Syrian President Bashar Assad on Wednesday called a constitutional referendum for later this month that would effectively end nearly 50 years of single-party rule, which critics see as a move aimed at placating growing global outrage over the bloodshed.

“The security is being restored swiftly as most Syrian towns are living in peace and stability,” Ali told reporters after the meeting.

He stressed that security forces are handling the rest of the “terrorist groups.”

Asked about the reasons behind Syria’s refusal to receive joint peacekeeping mission from the Arab League and the United Nations, Ali said that “Syria refuses any foreign intervention in its sovereignty.”

The United Nations General Assembly vote Thursday on a new resolution calling on Syrian President Assad to put a stop to deadly attacks on civilians.

The resolution drawn up by Saudi Arabia and Qatar, which was given to member nations on Tuesday, also expresses support for the Arab League's plan to end the 11-month crackdown in Syria and calls for the naming of a U.N. special envoy.

The move comes after Russia and China vetoed a second Security Council resolution on the crisis in Syria on February 4, because they said it was "unbalanced."

Russia and China are expected to oppose the new text but no one can veto resolutions in the 193-nation General Assembly, though they carry less weight.