Lebanon warns the US over the dragging Mideast peace process amid growing skepticism around Washington's mediation between Palestinians and Israel.
On his first White House visit as Lebanese premier, Saad Hariri told US president Barack Obama on Monday that the "clock is ticking ... against all those who believe in a just peace," the Associated Press reported.
Hariri warned Obama of a "pervasive frustration and skepticism" in the Muslim world regarding the issue and that failure in securing a peace agreement will "nurture more extremism and give birth to new forms of violence."
"This poses great dangers to everyone in the Middle East and to the world at large."
Meanwhile, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said that the Obama administration has failed to make any progress in the Middle East peace process.
In an interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica published on Monday, Assad said the US had lost its influence and that under what he described as a newly born order in the world other countries refuse to wait for the US to "hand out roles."
Results from an opinion poll in April showed less than 10 percent of Palestinians believe that Obama's policies could increase chances of achieving a "just peace," while a noticeable 78 percent of those interviewed believe the US-Israel dispute over West Bank settlements was "not serious."
The survey further revealed more than 32 percent of respondents believe the peace process is dead.
The US managed to press the Palestinian Authority into holding indirect "proximity talks" with Israel earlier in May, reportedly assuring the West Bank's Fatah-led government of concessions on the settlement issue.
Many Palestinians, however, voiced strong opposition to the resumption of talks with Israel, arguing the move would only serve as a cover for Israel violation of Palestinian rights.
[Source: Press TV]
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