Michel Sleiman

:: Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah’s remarks about “the importance of official coordination with Syria in case Lebanon decides to start negotiating with Daesh” has provoked criticisms about pushing the government to communicate with Damascus.

Saudi Minister of State for the Gulf Thamer Al-Sabhan tweeted during his visit to Lebanon: “The efforts of the Lebanese Army, and the maintenance of the security and stability of the country, have proven that only national and legal institutions are capable of protecting countries, and sectarianism does not build nations.”

A politician from Lebanon’s March 14 alliance told Arab News: “If Daesh is the most dangerous enemy, how can we accept negotiating with its members and helping them move from one region to another?”

In a statement, the Future Movement said: “Nasrallah is misleading everybody into believing that the Lebanese Army wouldn’t have been able to achieve its goals if it weren’t for the battles of Hezbollah and the Syrian Army on the other side.”

The movement said Nasrallah is using the issue of kidnapped soldiers “to blackmail the Lebanese government and drag it into negotiating with Daesh, in coordination and integration with the Syrian government. This invitation is rejected and cannot be accepted, because it manipulates the emotions of the kidnapped soldiers’ families and uses them for the interest of the Syrian regime and its allies.”

Commenting on coordination with Syria in releasing the kidnapped soldiers, former Lebanese President Michel Sleiman said: “Any coordination or indication that Lebanon should ask for the help of any country, especially our neighbors, is contested. They might know where the soldiers are, and are using this to achieve their goals.”

He added: “In order to save the soldiers, the involved members must be arrested for investigation. We didn’t get the chance to interrogate Daesh militants who fled the barrens of Arsal regarding the kidnapped soldiers.

“Coordinating to avoid injuries from both Lebanese and Syrian military sides isn’t a problem. However… coordination that aims to achieve political goals too is an attempt to… disrupt relations.”

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea accused Nasrallah of “harming the Lebanese Army” because “many countries will stop helping our army if they believe coordination is actually true.”

Geagea condemned “using the issue of the kidnapped soldiers as a tool to pressure the Lebanese government into holding official talks with Syria.” He added: “There’s no coordination at all with a regime that’s more terrorist than Daesh.”

Questioning the motive behind negotiating, Geagea asked: “As long as the terrorists are besieged from all sides, why don’t we take them captive and kill those who don’t give up?”