Beirut, April 25: Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit dismissed as “laughable” on Saturday US and Israeli fears that Syria has been supplying Lebanese militant group Hezbollah with Scud missiles.
“These allegations are lies and are laughable,” Abul Gheit told reporters in Beirut as he began an official visit.
“Egypt stands by Lebanon under all conditions and in the face of all threats,” he added.
Earlier this month, Israeli President Shimon Peres accused Syria of arming Hezbollah with Scuds, a charge Damascus has strongly denied.
Washington has stopped short of openly accusing Damascus of supplying Hezbollah with the missiles, but has said Syria has been providing the group with a “wider array” of weaponry.
The Scud allegations come as the US administration has boosted relations with Syria and US lawmakers have seized on them to argue against a bigger rapprochement.
Israel waged a bloody 34-day war on Lebanon in the summer of 2006 and fighting claimed the lives of more than 1,200 people in Lebanon, most of them civilians, and more than 160 Israelis, most of them soldiers.
—Agencies