Murr defends planned visit to Syria

 
Source: NowLebanon, 01-02-2008
Defense Minister Elias Murr called on all those criticizing Lebanese officials for visiting Syria to refrain from doing so with him because his trip to Damascus, if it took place, was intended only to discuss Lebanon's interests and would complement President Michel Sleiman's earlier visit last August.
After a meeting on Monday in his Ministry of Defense office, Murr said that "those who attack Lebanese officials' visits to Syria have been doing so on behalf of those who paid for the country's independence with their own blood...I'm one of those who nearly lost his life, so I don't need someone to speak on my behalf."
In July 2005, a car bomb wounded Murr, and killed two others in the Beirut suburb of Antelias.
"We are preparing for the visit, and among the issues under review is the border file, which is at the core of UNSCR 1701...this issue is important for both countries, and Lebanon in particular," Murr said, before adding that "we are going over all the details and putting together an agenda to show the Syrians; when we agree on all the details we will embark on this visit."
He said that if the visit did occur, he did not want to hear the kind of criticism that was directed at the interior minister and army commander, after they returned from Damascus.