Connelly: No secret communication, only diplomatic relations with Syrian regime

U.S. ambassador to Lebanon Maura Connelly said that all efforts must be exerted to convince Syrian President Bashar Assad to step down. She stressed that there is no secret communication with Syria, but only diplomatic relations.        

“It is not up to the U.S. to impose alternatives on Syria; only the Syrian people are authorized to do so.”         

Connelly told LBCI that she is afraid al-Qaeda and extremist groups might try to hamper the political transition in Syria, stressing that the U.S. does not want this to happen.      

Connelly said that the U.S. Administration understands the situation of Lebanon and that of the Lebanese-Syrian relations. “However, we must look at what Lebanon did and the prominent role it played by taking care of the Syrian refugees”, she said.     

Asked on Lebanon's position towards the Syrian crisis, Connelly said “I don’t think that anyone in Lebanon approves of the violence in Syria”.         

Connelly assured that the U.S. is in contact with the Lebanese banking sector and the Central Bank of Lebanon, voicing her confidence that the Lebanese banking sector knows exactly what to do regarding U.S. and European sanctions.