BEIRUT — Vice President Joe Biden said Friday that future U.S. aid to Lebanon depends on the outcome of upcoming elections, a warning aimed at Iranian-backed Hezbollah as it tries to oust the pro-Western faction that dominates government.
Confident its alliance will win, Hezbollah criticized Biden’s visit as a U.S. attempt to influence the June 7 vote and held a mass rally to show its popular support.
Biden is the highest-level U.S. official to visit Lebanon in more than 25 years. The attention shows American concern that the vote could shift power firmly into the hands of Hezbollah.
U.S. officials have said before that they will review aid to Lebanon depending on the composition of the next government, apparently meaning military aid.
“The election of leaders committed to the rule of law and economic reform opens the door to lasting growth and prosperity, as it will here in Lebanon,” Biden said. The U.S. “will evaluate the shape of our assistance programs based on the composition of the new government and the policies it advocates.”
The U.S. considers Hezbollah a terrorist group, and Biden’s one-day visit was clearly timed to bolster the Western-leaning faction led by Prime Minister Fouad Siniora ahead of the vote. He expressed strong support for the government.
“I assure you we stand with you to guarantee a sovereign, secure Lebanon, with strong institutions,” he said after the meeting with President Michel Suleiman.
Biden said the U.S. did not want to interfere in the elections and tried to steer clear of the political divisions by meeting the neutral president, Siniora and Hezbollah-allied parliament speaker Nabih Berri.
