I choose internal stability over external threats, Aoun says

Speaking after the Change and Reform bloc weekly meeting, MP Michel Aoun mainly tackled the issue of the STL funding.    

"The Tribunal is illegal until the issue is settled in cabinet", he said, adding that he had confirmed in a letter to U.N. Chief Ban Ki-moon that the STL is illegal.     

“The international community is taking sides, thus it will be held responsible for a possible power vacuum or internal strife,” he elaborated.   

Aoun called on Ban Ki-Moon to adopt an objective perspective when dealing with the issue.   

Aoun confirmed that the STL funding issue is still open for discussion, adding that he would choose internal stability over external threats if he had to make the choice.   

The FPM Leader said that he is ready to cooperate to find a solution to the STL issue, “provided that it will not lead to an internal division.”   

He said he is not rigid while dealing with the STL issue; “however there are principles one should respect because Lebanese sovereignty is at stake.”  

In his concluding remarks, Aoun voiced surprise that the U.S. is the “number one violator of the U.N. charter.”