June 8, 2022

US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf announced that the United States has not yet taken any decision to lift sanctions, or any exceptions related to sanctions once morest Syria, regarding the transfer of Egyptian gas to Lebanon, “because these countries have not signed any contracts yet.” “.

Leaf said, in a session of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, devoted to discussing the Biden administration’s policy towards Syria, on Wednesday, that “there is a process underway now to terminate these contracts between governments,” adding that Washington will look into the details of these contracts and decide on them in a timely manner.

She denied providing any guarantees regarding the lifting of sanctions, but indicated that what has been committed is to hold talks on this issue.

Lev emphasized that the aim of this project is to help the Lebanese people in the first place.

She said, “Lebanon has been suffering for years and is now undoubtedly on the verge of the collapse of the state and society, and we are trying, through several measures, to put an end to this possibility, because the repercussions of this on the Lebanese are something, but the repercussions on the region more broadly will be greater, on Israel, Jordan and other countries.”

She added, “Therefore, we are working on several measures, including the option of transporting Egyptian gas through Jordan through a pipeline that passes through Syria, which was proposed by the governments of Cairo and Amman,” noting that the Lebanese people have only two hours of electricity per day at present.

And the US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs revealed that “the Jordanian monarch is the most concerned person among our partners regarding the possibility of collapse in Lebanon, and he wants to do everything possible to mitigate this possibility.”

It also stressed that “there will be no transfer of cash of any kind to the Syrian government.”

In response to another question by Senator Cruz regarding whether the Lebanese army, to which the United States provides billions of dollars in aid, is trying to stop Hezbollah arms convoys in Lebanon and the number of such operations if they occur, Assistant Secretary of State Barbara Leaf, who took office last week, said: I want to know the details and come to you with an answer.”

But, she added, “The Lebanese Armed Forces are on the verge of becoming the only national institution that has the ability to maintain security and mitigate some of the repercussions of Lebanon’s collapse. It is the only country-wide institution that the Lebanese people trust and is suffering in carrying out its responsibilities and the last thing we want to see is The collapse of the Lebanese armed forces as well.